REGION

REGION
Free vessel checksby Coast Guard Auxiliary
The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary is offering free vessel safety checks starting this month.
Vessel examiners issue no citations, and there are no penalties for not successfully completing a safety check. Examiners provide a copy of the vessel safety check form, allowing the owner to make recommended safety improvements at his or her discretion.
An examiner will meet the owner at the boat at a prearranged time or during a vehicle safety check event at a marina, boat ramp, etc. A typical check takes approximately 20 minutes.
E-mail rcalz@msn.com or call: Ray Calzo at (330) 799-8744, John Vargo at (330) 792-5174, George Davis at (330) 337-7742, Jerry Crowe at (330) 534-1123 or Brooks Wright at (440) 645-3567.
OHIO
Expanded opportunitiesfor deer hunting
COLUMBUS -- Ohio hunters will have expanded deer hunting opportunities this fall, under new regulations and season dates approved for 2006-07 by the Ohio Wildlife Council.
The additional weekend of deer-gun hunting will fall on Saturday, Dec. 16, and Sunday, Dec. 17. The traditional week-long deer-gun season will begin on Monday, Nov. 27, and run through Sunday, Dec. 3. Deer-archery season will run from Saturday, Sept. 30, through Sunday, Feb. 4, 2007.
Statewide muzzleloader season will open on Wednesday, Dec. 27, and run through Saturday, Dec. 30. Early muzzleloader hunts will be open Monday, Oct. 23, through Saturday, Oct. 28, at Salt Fork, Shawnee and Wildcat Hollow. Muzzleloader hunts at these areas are by special permit only, with a random drawing held before the season for a limited number of antlered and unlimited number of antlerless permits.
Last year's three deer-hunting zones remain in place. A three-deer limit (Zone C) will cover 38 central, south, southeastern and southwestern counties. The 30 counties of Zone B will have a two-deer limit, and the 20 northwestern counties of Zone A will have a one-deer limit. A hunter may take only one buck in Ohio, regardless of zone, hunting method or season.
The youth deer-gun season is set for Saturday, Nov. 18, and Sunday, Nov. 19. Young hunters can bag only one deer of either sex in any county of Ohio during this special season. Any deer taken will be part of the young hunter's total season limit.
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has never been found in Ohio's deer herd. Still, to minimize the risk of CWD appearing in Ohio, reasonable measures were passed for the disposal of hunter-killed deer, elk and moose carcasses from CWD-affected areas before they are brought back to Ohio. The regulations require the meat from an animal from a CWD-infected area to be de-boned and wrapped with no part of the spinal column or head attached. Hunters can bring back antlers or antlers attached to skullcaps as long as all soft tissue has been removed. Also acceptable will be hides and capes without the head or lymph nodes attached and finished taxidermy mounts from known CWD-infected areas.
Spring turkey season
COLUMBUS -- Spring wild turkey hunting season opens in all 88 Ohio counties on Monday, April 24, and continues through Sunday, May 21, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
"It should be a good year for turkey hunters, and I estimate between 20,000 and 25,000 gobblers will be harvested this season," said ODNR forest wildlife biologist Dave Swanson.
The wild turkey is Ohio's largest game bird. It stands 3 to 4 feet tall and may weigh up to 27 pounds. Hunters harvested 18,833 wild turkeys during last year's spring season.
Swanson added that Ohio's current wild turkey population is around 180,000. He anticipates as many as 90,000 people, not counting private landowners hunting on their own property, will enjoy Ohio's increasingly popular spring wild turkey season.
A special youth-only turkey hunt for those age 17 and younger will be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 22-23. Young hunters must have their hunting licenses and spring wild turkey permits to participate and must be accompanied by a nonhunting adult at least 18 years old. The young hunter's turkey season is open statewide on public and private lands with the exception of Lake LaSuAn State Wildlife Area in Williams County. Legal hunting hours are a half-hour before sunrise to sunset each day during the two-day youth season.
Legal hunting hours for the spring season are one-half hour before sunrise until noon. Hunters are required to have a hunting license and a spring turkey hunting permit and can take one wild turkey per day. A second spring turkey permit can be purchased, allowing hunters to take a limit of two bearded wild turkeys.
Shotguns using shot, longbows and crossbows may be used to hunt wild turkeys. It is unlawful to hunt turkeys over bait, to use a live decoy or electronic calling device, or to shoot a wild turkey while it is in a tree. A wild turkey must be properly tagged and taken to an official check station by 2 p.m. on the day it is harvested.
PENNSYLVANIA
One-day powerboat course
ESPYVILLE, Pa. -- A one-day course for powerboaters will be offered by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary on May 13 at the North Shenango Community Center, state Route 285 between Pymatuning Lake and Conneaut Lake.
Mandatory boater education is required for anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1982, who will operate a powerboat greater than 10 horsepower in Ohio and 25 horsepower in Pennsylvania.
Registration closes April 15, and preregistration is required. The class will run from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Doors will open at 7:30 a.m.
For more information, call Brooks Wright at (440) 645-3567; Ed Straub at (330) 727-3005; Ray Calzo at (330) 799-8744; Jerry Crowe at (330) 534-1123; or George Davis at (330) 337-7742.