Rowan Co. Sports
Hunters to get second shot at elk
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources has proposed an additional elk hunt to help landowners alleviate damage caused by elk. The proposal would allow thousands of hunters not chosen for the regular season hunts a second chance at a cow elk hunt. The proposed hunt still requires final approval by legislators.
“Although we don’t get nearly as many calls about nuisance elk as we do about deer and other species, elk can do significant damage to pastures during the winter, and to crops during the summer,” said Kentucky Big Game Program Coordinator Tina Brunjes. “We proposed this hunt specifically to help landowners, and it provides additional hunting opportunities.”
The proposal includes a 14-day season for antlerless elk beginning Jan. 14. While modern firearms would be allowed for the hunt, it would be limited to private lands within two of the newly created Elk Management Units.
Under the proposal, 50 hunters will be randomly selected from the pool of applicants who were not chosen for the 2008 bull and cow quota hunts. Hunters would be assigned an Elk Management Unit in portions of Knott, Harlan or Bell counties, and be responsible for obtaining permission from a landowner to hunt.
Landowners like Jim Corum of Bell County said they appreciate the department’s efforts to solve his elk problems. Corum has lost young trees to hungry elk and rutting bulls over the last 3 years. Corum and his neighbors, along with Bell County Judge-Executive Abey Brock, contacted Kentucky Fish and Wildlife for assistance in solving the problem. Although Corum has tried various methods of keeping elk off his land as recommended by department biologists who visited his property, his location next to the Begley Wildlife Management Area provides plenty of opportunity for elk to visit.
Key department personnel – including Wildlife Division Director Karen Alexy and commission members Taylor Orr and Doug Hensley – met Aug. 21 with local residents in Bell County to hear their concerns and discuss the proposed hunt and other ways of dealing with elk. Orr represents the Ninth Wildlife District, which includes Bell County, while Hensley represents the Seventh Wildlife District, which includes Harlan County.
“Elk have brought a lot of positives to eastern Kentucky, but they sometimes get into conflict with people,” Alexy said afterward. “This meeting and the proposed late-season hunt for the Straight Creek area are part of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s efforts to address these issues.”
A second public meeting about the hunt proposal is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Knott County Sportsplex near Hazard. A small area of private land in Knott County, located northeast of Carr Creek Lake Wildlife Management Area, is being considered for a late-season hunt.
- Rowan Co. Sports
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Viking soccer downs West and Bath
The Vikings moved up to 4-1 on the season this week with wins over West Crater and Bath County. On Monday, Rowan played host to the Comets of West Carter for a 5-0 victory.
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Coach's Corner
The Viking football team will travel to Estill County tonight (Friday). This is Estill’s first home game of the season and they are coming off a week two win over Bourbon County, 28-14.
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Rowan gals beat Eagles, tie the Tigers
The Lady Vikings are 3-2-1 on the season. On Saturday, the gals in green took down Johnson Central, 3-0 on the road.
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Volleyball Vikings prep for busy weekend of road play
The Lady Vikings had some time off this week to prepare for a busy weekend. On Thursday (after press time) the gals in green traveled to Bath County to face the 4-3 Lady Lions.
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Rowan Shooters wow
The Rowan County 4-H Sharp Shooters recently set their sights on the Morgan- Elliott Invitational. In the BB Rifle 9-11 age group, Thomas Gibson took first, Feby Riddle took second and Gibson had the overall high.
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RCMS Lady Vikings 2010 season is underway
The Rowan County Middle School Lady Vikings basketball teams are already into their regular season action. The seventh grade team is currently undefeated, standing at 5-0 on their season.
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MSU to induct four into Athletics Hall of Fame
Morehead State athletics will induct four former student-athletes into its Athletics Hall of Fame this fall. The 2010 class includes All-American football player David Dinkins, three-sport star Chris Berry, OVC volleyball standout Missy Abbott Marsh and MSU’s first All-Conference softball player Jodi McMackin Armstrong.
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History of state’s deer herd airs this weekend on “Kentucky Afield” TV
Kentucky ranks among the top hunting destinations in the nation for white-tailed deer. How we achieved that status – nearly 100 years in the making – we reveal on “Kentucky Afield” television this weekend, Sept. 4 and 5.
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Trolling for Trophies drawing winner announced
William “Bud” Foshee of Birmingham, Ala. will now have a chance to land a 50-inch muskellunge, a 10-pound largemouth bass, hand-sized bluegill, 2-foot-long hybrid striped bass and shellcrackers as long as a tackle box.
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State conservation officers to remain on duty during Labor Day holiday weekend
Most state offices will be closed Friday, Sept. 3, as part of the state’s budget balancing plan to furlough state government workers a total of six days in Fiscal Year 2011, but Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife conservation officers will be in the fields and on the water for the beginning of the Labor Day weekend, one of the busiest recreational times of the year.
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