Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 27, 1994 TAG: 9401270099
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It would have been embarrassing. For the turkey, that is. Because the bird would have lost.
The musical kee-kee-runs, the soft keouk-keouk-keouks, the raucous cackles that came from the calls of competitors such as Frank Humphries, Howard Estes and Danny Oakes were so pure and polished that a real turkey probably wouldn't have placed.
Humphries, who won the senior division, should be good.
"I practice from one to two hours a day from Thanksgiving Day into the spring," he said.
A resident of Union, S.C., Humphries finished a few points ahead of Estes, who lives in Farmville. Oakes, from Rice, was third.
The victory qualified Humphries, 32, for the 1994 Grand National Wild Turkey Calling Championship on Feb. 18-19 in Memphis, Tenn. He had attempted to qualify a week earlier during the North Carolina Open, an event he won last year. This time he placed sixth.
The Roanoke contest was one of the last qualifying events before the nationals, a fact that gave it increased importance. Roanoke chapter officials say the event will become an annual affair.
Hearl Kelly of Lexington was first in the novice division, followed by Eric Bole of Manassas and Victor Holderman of Great Falls.
Michael Pauley of Daleville won the junior division. Wil Strickland of Hillsville was second; Ben Helper of Covington, third.
Helper wasn't much taller than a tom turkey, which means some tough competition is on the way, not just for gobblers, but also for guys like Humphries.
\ LEGISLATION: Among the bills in the General Assembly that are of special interest to outdoorsmen is a measure that would require the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to establish regulations and a licensing system for all shooting preserves.
The department regulates preserves where pen-raised birds are released, but it doesn't have authority overs establishments where exotic-animal hunts take place. That includes the controversial Bora-Walla Game Preserve in Alleghany County.
The importance of the Hunters for the Hungry program is underscored by a House Joint Resolution that directs state agencies to identify ways to feed more hungry people while reducing the overpopulation of deer.
You can count on the cooperation of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Members of that agency's staff donated $2,000 of their own money to the program when it experienced financial problems last year.
Despite the lack of funding, Hunters For the Hungry handled nearly 70,000 pounds of venison during the past season, about the same as the year before, said David Horn, the director.
"The good news is that we survived and have developed a base of support on which to build during 1994," Horn said.
\ FISHING: The temperatures have moderated enough to get anglers back onto area lakes, where some are reporting success.
Robert Ashwell of Huddleston landed a 21-pound, 9-ounce striped bass this week at Smith Mountain Lake.
\ SKIING: The 1994 Virginia Governor's Cub ski races begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at Wintergreen. There will be giant slalom competition in 11 age groups, from 6- to 8-year olds to 60-and-up.
The entry fee is $30, which includes a lift ticket. For more information, call Matt Erickson, the race director at Wintergreen, at (804) 325-2200, ext. 969.
by CNB