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Membership Meetings

Minutes – 12/14/09 Board Mtg.
Sharon Hall / Penn State Shenango Campus / Sharon, Pa

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In Attendance:

J. Mondok, J. Kremis, C. Jochman, T. Jochman, W. Stevenson, K. Tarczy, P. Anthony, N. Loprire, E. Armburger, R. McClelland, and R. Natoli
1. Opening Comments –  Jeff Kremis / President
  • Shenango River Watchers – Jeff received a Thank You card from Shenango River Watchers for our participation in their June 2009 Cleanup of Neshannock Creek.
  • Brook Trout License Plates – Jeff passed around a sample of the National TU “front of car” license plate replacement; they are very nice.  We will sell them at the spring banquet.
2. Minutes from Last Meeting – R. Natoli / Secretary
  • The minutes were approved as written.
3. Treasurer’s Report – Jeff Kremis/Carol Jochman
  • Receipts & Disbursements Report – Carol reviewed the report for December 2009
  • Coolspring CD – When the CD matures December 30th; Carol will take out $363 to reimburse the FNB account for Coolspring Creek maintenance expenses.  The CD will then be renewed for 2010.
  • The Treasurers Report will be filed for future audit.
4. Committee Reports:

A. Stream Improvement – Jeff Kremis

  • Coolspring Creek Workday – Jeff will schedule a workday for spring 2010.
  • Deer Creek – Eric Armburger gave us a report.  Preseason trout stocking will occur March 10th, and in-season stocking will be April 30th.  Their Christmas tree won an award in their “class” at the Cochranton, Pa Fire station competition.  There will be a workday on August 28th on the stream at the Stallsmith property; two stream deflectors will be added 100 yards upstream of the existing deflectors.
  • Since property owner Brad Stallsmith has contributed so much to the trout fishing access at Deer Creek, the board members agreed we should send him a Christmas card, and 2 tickets to our spring banquet (R. Natoli to add name & address to our landowner list).
  • Big Run Project – If we decide to undertake this project, it needs to be done by March 17th.  This would involve completing work on a mudsill started on a youth only fishing area just off Rt. 422 on Dougherty Road in New Castle, Pa.  The mudsill needs a plank floor added over the sill logs, and then covered with stone.  The location is in a wide-open field with easy access.  Materials are already available; all we would have to do is supply the workers.  The workday would be either January 30th or February 13th.
  • Macroinvertabrate Study on Coolspring Creek – Jeff suggested May / June timeframe.

B. Nursery – Pete Anthony & Ken Tarczy absent

  • Trout Nursery Feeding – Ken reported that the new technique of feeding the fish once a day is working well, and the growth is good.  The Brown trout in the raceway are around 9-10 inches long, and the Golden Rainbows are 12 inches long.

C. Banquet / Newsletter -  Nick Loprire

  • Banquet Flyers & Posters – We discussed using both flyers and posters to advertise the upcoming banquet.  Posters would be good for Neshannock Creek Fly Shop and Benjamin’s Restaurant. We could ask the students at Laurel High School to make the posters for us.
  • Website update for the Banquet Information – Nick will ask John Siebert to update our web site with spring 2010 banquet information.
  • TV Raffle Tickets – Tickets came in; Carol passed them to the board members to sell.
  • January Newsletter – Nick will put in an article written by deceased member Chuck Allen that is a reflective story about fishing with his grandfather.

D. Membership – Tom Jochman

  • No report

E. Winter Membership Meeting - Jeff Kremis

  • Marcellus Shale Speaker – Jeff said he will get a speaker for the meeting, and he is searching for a low cost place to hold the event.  We could sell 50/50 tickets at the meeting and also get a head start on TV Raffle ticket sales.  Refreshments would be simple and inexpensive, probably coffee and cookies.

F.   Wolf Creek Fishing Derby

  • Former coordinator, Dick Rickert, contacted us and said he is willing to work on the event this spring, but did not want to coordinate it.  We discussed it and board members R. Natoli and C. Jochman agreed to run the event with Dick’s assistance.
     
    The next step would be to contact Dick to get his input and his list of THINGS-TO-DO for the fishing derby (R. Natoli to follow-up).

G. Youth Coordinator – Nobody Assigned

  • Trout in the Classroom – Both Mercer and Hermitage High Schools may be interested in participating.  Rick Stevens, a teacher in Hermitage, told Ken Tarczy that he is willing to take on the project.  The deadline for entries is February 26th, and leader training would start June 21st.  The fall of 2010 would be the official start of activities in the classroom.
     
    Neshannock Chapter would be responsible for purchasing a 55 Gallon aquarium with lid, and providing a $350 grant match, along with travel expenses for leader training.  Jim Mondok will obtain information on grants that would help us with funding.
     
    Tom Jochman made a motion to support Trout in the Classroom, Jim Mondok seconded it, and the motion passed.
          
  • Allenberry 2010 Youth Fly Fishing Camp – Carol Jochman has a candidate lined up for this year’s camp; the cost to our chapter would be $350.  All agreed to support this event.  March 15th is the deadline for applications to be submitted.
5. Old Business:
  • Nothing Significant
6. New Business:
  • Static Stream Digger – Nick Loprire provided a sketch and description of his idea to dig “fish habitat” holes in the stream.  It would require a cable run across the stream to hang the device.  Jim Mondok said he would check with his sources to see if the Pa DEP could approve the cable support.  We discussed the idea and decided to build a smaller scale model in Munnell Run Stream west of our trout nursery to see if it works (N. Loprire to follow-up).