Weekend for Memories
Phil Taunton
Friday, May 25, 2007
Memorial Day weekend has arrived.
I hope Mother Nature lets us have a few days of sunshine to enjoy the woods and waters.
If going to the lake and boating is your fancy, be mindful of the high waters and excess of floating debris in all our lakes, rivers and reservoirs due to the recent rains.
Fishing? Sean Stuck of the Tackle Box, 28 South Commercial in Emporia, reports that catfish are now going after chicken livers, blood baits and other prepared odoriferous offerings. The Tackle Box is also your official weigh-in station for a state-wide fishing contest being offered every week this summer. Prizes will be awarded for the biggest fish caught each week in five categories. So if you catch a bragging-size catfish, white bass, largemouth bass, walleye or crappie, get it weighed and enter it in the contest. You might just be a winner.
Bluegill as a live offering or as cut bait will also help you fill your creel with catfish. Last week I got into some dandy sunfish while just bait fishing. I had to catch my own bait after suffering the gas prices!
Several nice largemouth bass also fell for the tidbit of worm I was using. The bass were released and I filleted the sunfish that were big enough to eat. The others were used as bait during the night and one produced a 7-pound yellowcat. The rib cages of the sunfish I cleaned were also offered. Channel cat up to five pounds were caught and, along with the bluegill, will make a tasty Memorial Day fish fry. I didn’t quite know what to do with the snapping turtle that relished the cut bait. Wifeus didn’t particularly want it, to say the least, so with discretion being the better part of valor, I cut my line and let it go!
A Family Tribute
Conrad Carlson was an avid outdoorsman who had a passion for the Great Outdoors and all the wonders Mother Nature had to offer.
The Conrad Carlson Charitable Foundation was formed after Conrad’s untimely death at the age of 20 in a construction accident during the summer of 2002. The main goal of this organization is to get today’s youth in tune to the outdoor experiences Conrad so dearly loved by sponsoring youth “hands on” activities and events in their most natural setting, the Great Outdoors.
The Foundation has been very active since it was established in 2003.
The great support of various businesses and the volunteers who generously donated their money, merchandise, and time should be applauded. Sponsorship has also been provided by conservation groups such as the Emporia Area Chapter of Quail Unlimited and the National Wild Turkey Federation.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, OK Kids Day program at Eisenhower State Park, Melvern Lake, co-sponsored by the Foundation has become a great success.
The Foundation sponsors a youth fishing derby at the community youth fishing pond located at Huffman Park in Osage City, where catfish and wipers were stocked and continue to thrill the kids. A fish feeder and aerator was also provided. Benches, landscaping and a shelter house in the park have also been a priority of the Foundation.
Charitable contributions from the Foundation have also gone to sponsor Kansas Big Brothers-Big Sisters events and other KDWP “Pass it On” programs. Last year, the Foundation sponsored two youth upland game bird hunts at Melvern.
The Foundation takes pride in working with different conservation groups and helping with special deer and turkey hunts for youth and disabled hunters. Support also is given to local 4-H chapters, community church youth groups, and the Osage City youth football program.
Funding for these various programs and events was initially achieved through Conrad Carlson memorial contributions. Now, the Foundation also sponsors an annual golf and softball tournament to gain additional funding. This year’s golf tournament will be held at the Osage City Country Club golf course on June 2. The format is a four-person scramble with tee times available at 7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The softball tournament is a three-day, 28-team marathon affair starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 27, and continuing non-stop through Sunday, July 29.
For more information on the Conrad Carlson Charitable Foundation, its programs and events, please contact Shawn Carlson at (785) 587-7756.
Kansas Youth
Education Summit
The 2007 Kansas Youth Education Summit (YES) will be July 10-13. YES is a fun-filled, three-day program for high school freshmen and sophomores to educate them about the Constitution and Bill of Rights, their government, public speaking and debate and history, as well as introduce them to the shooting sports. YES started in 1996 as an NRA program at the national level and has since expanded to include programs at the state level to involve more students.
Highlights include tours of the Capitol, Kansas Historical Museum, the Judicial Building, and that’s just the first day! The second day will include a trip to Fort Riley, and the third day will conclude with a day of shooting and an awards presentation where one student will be selected to attend the National YES in Washington D.C. the following summer.
Evenings are dedicated to discussion about Constitutional issues, speeches, and debates. In addition, participants will be introduced to NRA’s programs like Friends of NRA, Eddie Eagle, Women on Target, and Refuse to Be a Victim.
Thanks to the generous support of the Friends of NRA and the State Fund Committee, there will be no charge to the participants other than the cost of transportation to get them to and from their home. The students will be staying in Junction City during the program.
If you know of outstanding students who are currently in the eighth or ninth grade and will be in the ninth or tenth grade next year, please contact Alison Emme at caemme@sbclobal.net or (785) 776-1366 or Steve Sheldon, NRA Field Representative at SSheldon@nrahq.org or (785) 364-4076 for an application. Applications will be due by May 31.