THE NEXT GENERAL MEETING, REMEMBER THE DATE: THURSDAY NOVEMBER 2ND, 7:30 PM, AT THE CLUB HOUSE, LINCOLN PARK ROAD, IN DERBY TOWNSHIP.

The next general meeting will have 5 minute presentations from the candidates for the Federal Election, if they wish to attend. Also, club member and taxidermist Brian Kinchen will be giving advice on how to look after your trophy deer or other game that you may wish to have mounted, this should be a very informative meeting.

NEW MEMBERS

The S.S.A. wish to welcome the following new members:
Robert Ginzel Adult
Ben Hopps  Adult
Manie Roy Adult
Stephen Kuchta Adult
Guy Doherty  Adult
John Gould Adult
Marty Emonts Adult
Lynn Hoath Adult
Klaus & Hildegard Wagner Family
Sascha Wagner Adult
Matthew Diebel Adult
DATES TO REMEMBER!!

The annual O.F.A.H. Zone H Meeting will be hosted by our Club, November 18th & 19th, at the Club House. Members are welcome to attend.

The S.S.A. wishes to acknowledge the heroic efforts of S.S.A. member John Lloyd, in saving two elderly people whose car had went into the Sydenham River.

Youth Activities Program

IMPORTANT: There will be a YAP meeting November 12th at 1:00pm at the white house. Agenda includes the election of a junior executive and planning of upcoming events. Please come and support our program. Everyone is welcome.

THANK YOU LETTER

Dear Members

 I would like to thank the members of the Sydenham Sportsmen's Association for making the 13th Annual Salmon Spectacular another great event. Winning the Grand Prize has been a dream of mine since the Salmon Spectacular began.
 Sunday, September 3rd, 200 is certainly a day I will never forget. The 10 days of the Derby were long but well worth the wait. The boat handles beautifully and the other prizes are fantastic as well.
 Thanks to the sponsors, Sydenham Sportsmen's Association, Molsons, Scotty and the many businesses who provided the daily prizes.
 Your stocking program provides us with great fishing and the sponsors supply plenty of prizes to keep the competition keen. A special thank you to all of your volunteers, they are always enthusiastic, whether they are weighing in fish or getting us a "cold one". Hats off to the volunteer who without a moments hesitation gave me the "shirt off his back" so I'd have the right shirt for the photo session.
 Once again, my sincere thanks to all of you. Owen Sound has a special kind of hospitality that is shared freely with all participants in the Derby.

 I look forward to more good fishing when Salmon Spectacular 14 begins next year.

Yours sincerely
Les Dykeman
Lucan
 

President's Report.

 By now we know that our Prime Minister has called for another Federal election in Canada on November 27. To assist the S.S.A. members in the decision making process, the Directors will be inviting each of the candidates or their representatives in our riding to address our membership for a 5 minute presentation ONLY at our November 2 general meeting. There will NOT be an opportunity for a question/answer period after their presentation.

In addition, we will also be forwarding a series of questions, prepared by the O.F.A.H: to each of the candidates and their reply will be published in a special S.S.A. newsletter prior to the November 27 election.

I wish to advise that both of these initiatives are NOT to be considered as S.S.A. support for any one particular candidate or political party but simply an avenue or opportunity to assist our members in determining which of these candidates/parties meets their individual needs.

We certainly encourage all of our members to attend the November meeting and as well as casting their vote for the candidate/political party of their choice on Nov 27.

Richard Manley
President SSA

Wildlife Advisory Committee

Suspensions for Game and Fish Violations
Membership suspension of S.S.A. members who have been convicted of Game or Fish related offenses is not a particularly pleasant topic of discussion. However, circumstances dictate that the subject must be addressed.

S.S.A. and O.F.A.H. have different by-laws regarding membership suspensions re the above. S.S.A. by-laws require an automatic suspension for any second offense and all offenses carry the same weight. On the other hand, the O.F.A.H. requires action to be taken on the first offense with the weight of penalties varying from reprimand to permanent suspension, varying as the severity of the offense. Since S.S.A. members are automatically O.F.A.H. members, this difference of penalty is an obvious contradiction.

The S.S.A. Executive proposes that the S.S.A. by-law, pertaining to suspensions, be canceled and replaced by the graduated O.F.A.H. system. Further the Board recommends that the handling of any S.S.A. member's offense be left to the O.F.A.H. Suspension Review Process.

In order for the O.F.A.H. to make a penalty decision, this is what happens when the O.F.A.H. receives information of a members conviction. The Suspension Committee considers, but is not limited to, such items as the Crown Brief, the Officer's statement, the Court statement, the Members statement and Witness's statements.

The O.F.A.H. has developed the following principles to guide the Suspension Committee. Was this an offense related to administrative, social, safety or biological values? Was this a first offense, or one of many? Was this a minor, intermediate or major offense ? Was the person allowed to settle out of court? How great was the penalty? Are there extenuating circumstances? For example, there is a world of difference between a person who forgets his/her wallet containing a fishing license and a person who jack lights a doe in March and sells the meat. The graded O.F.A.H. system means that minimal scoring will merely results in a Letter of Reprimand, intermediate scoring (to midpoint) would require a one year suspension. From midpoint to maximum, would entail suspension for two years. Maximum points and greater, would be a minimum 3 years and could be permanent.

The Suspension Committee reports it's findings and recommendations to the O.F.A.H. Board of Directors. At this time, the member, who has been convicted, is given an opportunity to make written or oral appeal to the Board. Then, if at the least 2/3 of the Board accept the recommendations of the Suspension Committee, the recommended penalty becomes effective as of that date.

Since the S.S.A. Executive recommendation for change will require a By-law amendment, this item will be presented to the membership at our November meeting.
Blake Smith, Chairperson
Wildlife Advisory Committee
Handgun Shooting Committee

Hand Gun Course

Any members wishing to take the C.R.F.S.C. course  (handgun) contact Stewart Wallace at 794 4423 to arrange date and time (probably late November).

Stewart Wallace

Shooting Sports

Apparently there has been a couple instances, of person unknown, placing misfired ammunition in the garbage. These misplace rounds have gone off when the garbage was burned, scaring the !!!! out of the person burning the garbage. This practice could result in a serious accident, so PLEASE depose of any misfired rounds in a proper and safe manner, DO NOT PUT THEM IN THE GARBAGE.  This applies to all ranges.

John Galbraith, Chairperson
Handgun Shooting Committee

DISCLAIMER:
The views presented in the "Sportsman" are the opinions of the writer or editor only and do not necessarily reflect official policies of the Sydenham Sportsmen's Association.

Letters to the Editor

An Opinion on Gun Law as Related to Politics by Blake Smith

Please note that the opinions outlined below are my own.

    The Federal Liberal Party is out to take away our guns! This is a strong statement and for a long time, I refused to believe that any Canadian Government would even think about doing this to its law abiding constituents. Now, I have completely changed my mind. I am absolutely convinced that they are out to disarm us. It may take a while, but disarm us they will.
    The actual reasons given by the Liberals for gun registration are so puny and meaningless, as to defy all logic. At a meeting I attended, the only justification that the then Justice Minister, Allen Rock, could give for registering guns was, "It will make us store our guns more safely". Give me a break! What possible effect could gun registration ever have on gun storage?
    But now, the real reason for gun registration has penetrated even my thick skull. The Federal Liberal Party is hell bent to disarm Canadian Citizens. Yes, outright confiscate our guns. Their program is as follows:

1. First find out who owns the guns. (Registration)

 2. Wait until some nut commits a firearms atrocity ( and one eventually will).

 3. Then, by decree, outlaw and confiscate, category by category, the registered firearms that they know  we own.

    Those of us who have semiautomatic or pump shotguns had better think long and hard about this. It couldn't happen? Just ask the Australians who have seen their pumps and semi-autos trucked and dumped in demolition sites. But that can't happen here? Fellow sportsmen, it already has. Just ask the owners of five hundred and fifty three thousand duly registered and once legally owned, .25 .32 calibre handguns and those with barrels less than 4.1 inches. They are right now being confiscated and destroyed without compensation. Just ask our Club members who are now prohibited from passing on previously legally owned family heirlooms. No more passing these gun legacies on down the family line. These sentimentally valued family treasures are being seized and destroyed with no compensation to those who were previously legal owners. O Canada!

We do have one last chance to redress this grievous affront to our democratic rights. We can kick out the Liberals and elect the Canadian Alliance Party to govern Canada.

The Alliance Party has promised to scrap bill C-68 and replace it with a more sensible law that will target criminals, rather than law abiding Canadians. Further, The Canadian Alliance Party has stated firmly, that if elected, it will immediately do away with long gun registration.

As a gun owner and a sportsman, I respectfully ask my fellow gun owners and sportsmen to seriously consider the points made above when deciding which candidate and party to vote for on November 27th.

The above is not the only reason that I INTEND TO VOTE FOR THE CANADIAN ALLIANCE PARTY, but it is certainly a very good one.

Blake Smith
************

 Crimestoppers

Background:

Almost everyone knows what Crimestoppers is. I'd like to provide some background and maybe a few things you maybe did not know. It started in Albuquerque, New Mexico by a Canadian detective working there. There are now 850 Crimestoppers in the world. New Brunswick Natural Resources was the first natural resources program to adopt the program; in 1983 the first Ontario Crimestoppers board was set up in Hamilton and in 1987 the first MNR office to get on board was in Timmins. In 1991 Bud Wildman, then MNR Minister, said MNR would become an active partner in Crimestoppers.
 

Crimestoppers is a private, non-profit board. It is not government run or financed, although some grants are given to the provincial board to run their provincial after hours switchboard. The police forces second a co-ordinator to assist in the day to day affairs of the board. A Conservation Officer is appointed to also assist part-time with the local board.
 

There are 40 boards in Ontario and each has a Board of Directors.
 

There is an Ontario Advisory Board which overall governs and provides direction to the local boards.
 

Funds are from public donations or fund raising by local boards. Freedom of Information legislation, which may affect contact with government employees does not apply to Crimestoppers tips; they are the property of the Board.
 

There is a nominal reward system based on successful conviction. It also provides a place for people to call after hours. In the MNR cases, the calls are forwarded to our central dispatch and sent out either to officers working after hours ro co-ordinators for action.
 

MNR needs information on fishing, hunting, commercialization, habitat destruction, illegal gravel removal and any other resources type violations. You may feel the information is not important but it may be a piece of a larger puzzle.
 

WHAT TO DO:

• Record as much information as possible, Who, what, where when, how, vehicles, vehicle plates and any other pertinent details.
• Call Crimestoppers. No call display or names are recorded.
• Call is given an ID number for future reference and then the caller gives the information.
• Information is sent to me in our office for action. I report back to the local co-ordinator within 30 days what has happened so the caller can be updated, recommended for payment etc.
• Caller calls back, gives their ID number. May be told more information is needed or arrest made, charges laid, etc.
• If a reward is requested, the local board decides on the amount, a secret location si arranged and the money transferred by a board member. Cash is not traceable.