President — Bob Newberry, 5595 Waddletown Rd., Bland, VA 24315; phone: 276-688-3670; e-mail: sandyhollow@embarqmail.com
Vice President — Mike Perdue, 9150 Poor Mountain Rd., Bent Mountain, VA 24059; phone: 540-929-4412; cell phone: 540-589-4508; e-mail: Bentmtntrapper@aol.com
Membership Secretary — Norm Mullins, P.O. Box 802, Cedar Bluff, VA 24609; phone: 276-963-0642; cell: 276-971-1856; e-mail: nbmullins@gmail.com
Recording Secretary — James G. Covais, 10401 Moore Ct., Spotsylvania, VA 22553; phone: 540-760-9694; e-mail: jcovais@comcast.net
Treasurer — Thomas Teague, 2920 Cross Keys Road, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801; phone: 540-564-1930; e-mail: thomasteague@verizon.net
General Organizer — Bud Jenkins, 33423 Seacock Chapel Rd., Ivor, VA 23866; phone: 757-859-6868
Training Coordinator — Ed Crebbs, 175 Waldrop Rd., Gordonsville, VA 22942; phone: 540-832-2708; e-mail: edcrebbs@yahoo.com
NTA Director — John Coakley, 1188 Turkey Knob Rd., Quicksburg, VA 22847; phone: 540-477-3440; cell phone: 540-335-6088
Membership Options:
• 1-year membership including subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $20
• 2-year membership with subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $38
• Junior (under 16) with subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $10
• Lifetime membership with subscription to The Trapper & Predator Caller — $250
Complete membership application on first page of association section and send dues to:
VTA, Membership Secretary
Norm Mullins
Box 802, Cedar Bluff, VA 24609-0802
DISTRICT 4 REPORT
My name is Billy Price. I am the new director of District 4. Please contact me by mail or phone.
Billy Price
622 Stingy Hollow Rd.
Staunton, VA 24401
(540) 886-8014
All members of District 4 should thank Scott Painter for the time and effort he put in as director.
Support the V.T.A. – Volunteer, vote, attend meetings, go to conventions, spend a day at trapper training.
— Billy Price
DISTRICT 8 REPORT
District 8 is comprised of nine counties: Caroline, Essex, Lancaster, Mathew, Middlesex, Northumberland, Richmond, Spotsylvania and Westmoreland. Current membership is 38 trappers and trapping-interested persons. Our membership covers a wide range of experience from senior to novice trappers, fur graders/buyers and wildlife managers.
Anyone seeking animal damage control assistance in the District 8 counties, please see the DGIF Nuisance Wildlife Trapper list at http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/nuisance/trappers for names of trappers by county. However, this list is not all inclusive of the trappers in the district and not all of the trappers on the list are district members. If you would like additional trapper contact information, please e-mail or call me and I’ll forward your request for assistance to our closest district member to you.
Our district holds regular meetings/cookouts during the trapping offseason to discuss issues related to the trade/hobby, provide trade-related demonstrations and engage in camaraderie around pot luck meals. All VTA Officers and our local DGIF Wildlife/Land Managers have open invitations to attend our meetings to share the meal with us, participate in the discussions and field questions about trapper concerns.
Our latest district meeting was held on Aug. 30 in Spotsylvania County. We had a fair turnout with 14 trappers and family members. After burning burgers and dogs, we discussed few topics and upcoming events regarding the trade, the VTA Convention demonstration and meeting schedule, the Region 5 trapper training schedule and VTA election process and ballot certification.
The VTA Election Nominating Committee will meet on the first week of October to count and certify the election results. The results of the election will be provided to the Executive Board no later than Oct. 15. We thank all of the candidates for offering their time and services to our Association.
Our President forwarded a “Call to Action” document from the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance regarding President Obama’s choice the head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). OIRA has “extensive authority over all federal regulations including those coming from the Departments of Interior (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) and Agriculture.” The person nominated has voiced strong anti-hunter and pro-animal rights positions in the past. Contact me if you would like additional details about the “Call to Action.”
We ended our meeting with an excellent dirthole set demonstration by one of our members, Barry Barbour. While the dirt hole set is the mainstay for many, the demonstration provided us the opportunity to see the variances used by others and opened the conversation channels for the group to say and show what they do differently and why. Next month, we’re planning to hold two demonstrations; skinning and trap modifications.
Our last of the year district meeting is scheduled Sept. 27 at 2 p.m. at 6706 River Road, Fredericksburg. A meeting announcement with site directions will be sent to district members and guests, however, the event is open to all trappers or trapping-interested persons. If you would like to attend, please contact me at foltzas@verizon.net or 540-630-1756 for details and directions.
— Art Foltz
DISTRICT 10 REPORT
Greetings all. By the time you read this, the VTA convention will have come and gone. As I said last report, D10 plans to conduct its next meeting in Luray. We’ll meet immediately after the general membership meeting concludes. I’m thinking it might be best to meet right there where we’re all gathered instead of moving over to the campground. We’ll keep it short. Upcoming meeting aside, there’s been no activity to report.
You can e-mail me at rob.brewer@us.army.mil or werjello@verizon.net. Please be sure to put VTA in the subject line, so I do not delete it as spam. For those who would rather pick up the phone, my cellular is 757-869-9822. ‘Til next time.
— Rob Brewer
