Pottawatomie County’s Free Fair is scheduled for next week, Sept. 10-12, at the Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center. This year the County Fair reportedly has added a commercial booth competition for the best decorated booth. This year’s theme for the fair is “A Barnyard Blast.”
The prizes awarded will be free booth rent for next year’s County Fair and a first place plaque. Plaques for second and third place will be awarded as well.
Bo Chavez, at the Greater Shawnee Chamber of Commerce, who is in charge of coordinating the commercial booths, said all of the booths have been reserved already for next week’s fair.
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Remember the Central Oklahoma Friends of the NRA are holding their fourth annual dinner and auction at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center, tomorrow (Thursday), beginning at 6 p.m., 1899 S. Gordon Cooper Drive.
Jack Barrett, committee chairman, notes the auction raises money for 4H, FFA and Boy Scout youth shooting programs.
The NRA provided more than $230,000 in grants just in Oklahoma during 2008, Barrett said.
Registration will begin at 6 p.m., followed by dinner around 7 p.m. and the auction starting around 8 p.m. Dinner tickets are $25 for adults, and for children under 12 it’s $10.
Barrett said tickets are available for sale Monday through Friday, 9 p.m. to 5 p.m., at BDC Arms and Ammunition, 1210 Gordon Cooper Drive, Shawnee, or call 405-273-9554. That’s in the BDC office building just across the Canadian River Bridge.
For more information, to make reservations and to secure tickets, call Hal Henry, treasurer, either at 275-4272 or 388-0210 or e-mail shamus4270@sbcglobal.net.
Contributions to the NRA Foundation are tax deductible to the extent allowed by federal income tax laws.
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Last week, several state lawmakers, among them Rep. Phil Richardson, examined ways to consolidate hunting and fishing licenses to simplify the process for wildlife officials and those who purchase the licenses.
Nels Rodefeld, chief of the Information and Education Division for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, told me about the meeting attended by some of the wildlife officials as well.
In a press release distributed by the Media Division of the Legislature, Richardson, R-Minco, said “Right now, you can’t just buy one license to cover any hunting or fishing you might undertake – you often need a special permit for a specific animal or method. Lawmakers have also added a number of exemptions over the years, which further complicates the process. It is just common sense to simplify these licenses any way we can.”
The 10-member task force was created by Senate Bill 1034. The agenda for last week’s meeting included discussions about hunting statistics, the anniversary license, the possibility of combining or packaging certain licenses, license fees for non-residents with a comparison of surrounding states, and the consolidation of lifetime licenses.
“Hunting and fishing are part of our heritage and Oklahomans should be able to participate in those activities without jumping through bureaucratic hoops,” Richardson said. “By streamlining the licensing process, we can make it easier for citizens to hunt and fish and also increase tourism in rural areas.”
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Talking about wildlife, remember that you need no licenses or HIP permit this weekend to hunt in Oklahoma as part of the state’s Free Hunting Days Sept. 5-6.
Officials with the state Wildlife Department are confident that, after trying the sport for free, new hunters will gain an appreciation for conservation and hunting and will be more likely to participate in hunting in the future.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is the state agency charged with conserving the state’s wildlife. The agency receives no general state tax revenues and is funded by sportsmen through the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses and federal excise taxes on sporting goods.
Additionally, Oklahomans who hunt for free during the state’s Free Hunting Days can then purchase a hunting license and plan hunting trips throughout the fall as more seasons open. Opportunities to hunt deer, turkey, black bear, antelope, elk, rabbit, quail, pheasant waterfowl, and more are available this fall to hunters through a variety of methods in Oklahoma, as well as seasons on some species designated just for youth. To find out more about hunting season dates and regulations in Oklahoma, consult the “2009-10 Oklahoma Hunting Guide,” available free at sporting goods stores and anywhere that sells hunting and fishing licenses, or log on to www.wildlifedepartment.com.
Free Hunting Days participants also can follow up their outdoor experience by attending one of many hunter education courses held statewide by the Wildlife Department. The class teaches a range of topics including firearms safety, wildlife identification, wildlife conservation and management, survival, archery, muzzleloading and hunter responsibility. The course is available as a standard eight-hour course, through an Internet home study course or through a workbook home study course. Officials with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation say hunter education courses have not only reduced accidents within Oklahoma, but also in every state and Canadian province with similar programs. Over the past 30 years, hunting related accidents and fatalities have declined by more than 70 percent in Oklahoma.
To learn more about hunting in Oklahoma, log on to www.wildlifedepartment.com.
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If you have ideas or something of interest for this column, call 214-3922 or e-mail michael.mccormick@news-star.com. Include name and phone number for contact purposes.
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Pottawatomie County’s Free Fair is scheduled for next week, Sept. 10-12, at the Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center. This year the County Fair reportedly has added a commercial booth competition for the best decorated booth. This year’s theme for the fair is “A Barnyard Blast.”
The prizes awarded will be free booth rent for next year’s County Fair and a first place plaque. Plaques for second and third place will be awarded as well.
Bo Chavez, at the Greater Shawnee Chamber of Commerce, who is in charge of coordinating the commercial booths, said all of the booths have been reserved already for next week’s fair.
•••
Remember the Central Oklahoma Friends of the NRA are holding their fourth annual dinner and auction at the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center, tomorrow (Thursday), beginning at 6 p.m., 1899 S. Gordon Cooper Drive.
Jack Barrett, committee chairman, notes the auction raises money for 4H, FFA and Boy Scout youth shooting programs.
The NRA provided more than $230,000 in grants just in Oklahoma during 2008, Barrett said.
Registration will begin at 6 p.m., followed by dinner around 7 p.m. and the auction starting around 8 p.m. Dinner tickets are $25 for adults, and for children under 12 it’s $10.
Barrett said tickets are available for sale Monday through Friday, 9 p.m. to 5 p.m., at BDC Arms and Ammunition, 1210 Gordon Cooper Drive, Shawnee, or call 405-273-9554. That’s in the BDC office building just across the Canadian River Bridge.
For more information, to make reservations and to secure tickets, call Hal Henry, treasurer, either at 275-4272 or 388-0210 or e-mail shamus4270@sbcglobal.net.
Contributions to the NRA Foundation are tax deductible to the extent allowed by federal income tax laws.
•••
Last week, several state lawmakers, among them Rep. Phil Richardson, examined ways to consolidate hunting and fishing licenses to simplify the process for wildlife officials and those who purchase the licenses.
Nels Rodefeld, chief of the Information and Education Division for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, told me about the meeting attended by some of the wildlife officials as well.
In a press release distributed by the Media Division of the Legislature, Richardson, R-Minco, said “Right now, you can’t just buy one license to cover any hunting or fishing you might undertake – you often need a special permit for a specific animal or method. Lawmakers have also added a number of exemptions over the years, which further complicates the process. It is just common sense to simplify these licenses any way we can.”
The 10-member task force was created by Senate Bill 1034. The agenda for last week’s meeting included discussions about hunting statistics, the anniversary license, the possibility of combining or packaging certain licenses, license fees for non-residents with a comparison of surrounding states, and the consolidation of lifetime licenses.
“Hunting and fishing are part of our heritage and Oklahomans should be able to participate in those activities without jumping through bureaucratic hoops,” Richardson said. “By streamlining the licensing process, we can make it easier for citizens to hunt and fish and also increase tourism in rural areas.”
•••
Talking about wildlife, remember that you need no licenses or HIP permit this weekend to hunt in Oklahoma as part of the state’s Free Hunting Days Sept. 5-6.
Officials with the state Wildlife Department are confident that, after trying the sport for free, new hunters will gain an appreciation for conservation and hunting and will be more likely to participate in hunting in the future.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is the state agency charged with conserving the state’s wildlife. The agency receives no general state tax revenues and is funded by sportsmen through the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses and federal excise taxes on sporting goods.
Additionally, Oklahomans who hunt for free during the state’s Free Hunting Days can then purchase a hunting license and plan hunting trips throughout the fall as more seasons open. Opportunities to hunt deer, turkey, black bear, antelope, elk, rabbit, quail, pheasant waterfowl, and more are available this fall to hunters through a variety of methods in Oklahoma, as well as seasons on some species designated just for youth. To find out more about hunting season dates and regulations in Oklahoma, consult the “2009-10 Oklahoma Hunting Guide,” available free at sporting goods stores and anywhere that sells hunting and fishing licenses, or log on to www.wildlifedepartment.com.
Free Hunting Days participants also can follow up their outdoor experience by attending one of many hunter education courses held statewide by the Wildlife Department. The class teaches a range of topics including firearms safety, wildlife identification, wildlife conservation and management, survival, archery, muzzleloading and hunter responsibility. The course is available as a standard eight-hour course, through an Internet home study course or through a workbook home study course. Officials with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation say hunter education courses have not only reduced accidents within Oklahoma, but also in every state and Canadian province with similar programs. Over the past 30 years, hunting related accidents and fatalities have declined by more than 70 percent in Oklahoma.
To learn more about hunting in Oklahoma, log on to www.wildlifedepartment.com.
•••
If you have ideas or something of interest for this column, call 214-3922 or e-mail michael.mccormick@news-star.com. Include name and phone number for contact purposes.
