In This Issue

Click Here for the February Calendar.

The 2009 Trap Range Schedule is now available. Click Here to see the schedule

Businesses that support our club. Please support those businesses that help provide service and support to the El Dorado Rod & Gun Club. Click Here for the sponsors page.

President’s Report:

On January 20 the club hosted our annual fund raiser and banquet. If you didn’t attend this year’s annual banquet you sure missed a great time. Over 160 guests, members and family attend the best party of the year.

The club had a number of dignitaries attend the dinner as well as members and family. Joining the festivities Tuesday night was EID director and former club Secretary Bill George and EID Director George Osborn, El Dorado County, District Attorney Vern Pierson, County Supervisors Jack Sweeney and Ray Nutting, Superior Court Judge Doug Phimister, El Dorado County Sheriff Jeff Neves and his family and from the office of Senator Dave Cox, Rob Olmstead and friends.

There were many great prizes, the food was wonderful and even the weather cooperated. Hopefully you will be able to attend next year’s event. Check out the club’s web site for more information about their facilities and upcoming events. http://www.eldoradorodandgun.com

A BIG THANK YOU to Mike Murray for the donation of the “Gun of the Year!” Also thank you to Bev Ward & Bev’s Mom for putting together the table baskets. Ward’s Auto, C&H Motor Parts, Keith Murray, Howard Holzer, Greenhouse Café, El Dorado Café, Jim Knutson, Frank Meyers for taking care of the firearms and others that I might have forgotten for all the great donations to the club.

Congratulations to the winners of our main prizes.

Thank you From Ray Baumgardner! I can’t tell you how surprised and appreciative I am for having won the big prize! I would like to thank Mike Murray for donating the Gun of the Year to our club. Also to my wonderful, beautiful wife for allowing me to keep it! It was my lucky night! Thank you everyone.

A final BIG THANK YOU to all the people that helped make the banquet a great success.
Bob, Lori and Dharma Conover, Letty & Ray Baumgardner, Si Russell, Frank Meyers, Larry & Bev Ward, Doug & Grace Becker, Bob Pomeroy, Bob Hancock, Karen Beckman,  Marshall Seaborn and Ken Arwood.  

Congratulations to All and thank you to everyone who joined us and helped out. If I have forgotten anyone please accept my apologies. We hope to see you next year.

Click Here if you would like to see more photos of the banquet!

Budget Requests For 2008:
R.S.O. and committee chairman should turn in any requests for items to be included in next year’s budget to Bob Conover, Keith Murray or Rob Charny by the Board of Directors meeting in March. Members with any special projects should submit them by the same time. The Budget for 2008 will be finalized at the board meeting in March. Send Your Budget

Contribute to your newsletter:
We are in need of articles from our members to fill our newsletter with news that we can all enjoy or relate to. If you have any suggestions or comments on our newsletter we would love to hear from you. Articles can be submitted by eMail to news@edrgc.org or lettyb@directcon.net or by mailing to the club at P.O. Box 99, Placerville, CA. 95667.

Just a note: I have produced over 80 newsletters since I took over being president in 2001. I need your help, I need more material to add to the newsletter. Please consider sending me articles that I might add to our newsletter.

WWW...
Have you visited our club web site? you can see everything printed in the newsletter plus more information at the club web site 7 to 10 days before you receive it in the mail.

Board of Directors Meeting
Our monthly board meetings are held on the third Monday of each month, club house at the trap range 6pm. To be placed on the agenda for either of these meetings, or for further information, call (530) 672-3330 or Email: news@edrgc.org

Quote:

People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.
~ Soren Kierkegaard (1813 - 1855)

Stay Strong, Stay Vigilant, God Bless America

Rob Charny, President
El Dorado Rod & Gun Club

An armed man is a citizen; an unarmed man is a subject.

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All annual memberships for 2009 are now due, why not renew today via our web site using your credit card.

When you send in your dues with a check please remember to send in your membership application too. This helps us to keep all contact information current. You can find applications on our web site and at the range. Please fill out the membership application (in full) and return to us ASAP so you won’t miss out on all the exciting information you get from "The Powder Keg!"

Challenges:

Challenges bring out the best in people. Life throws us different challenges from time to time that vary from the worst of tragedies to the greatest achievements known to mankind. On January 15, 2009 US Airways Flight number 1549 crash landed into the Hudson River in New York City. Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger faced the challenge of his life without hesitation. He acted on pure experience as he had only moments to land as safely as possible to save all on board, as well as avoid any loss of life on the ground. He and his crew remained as calm and collected as humanly possible which no doubt kept panic to a minimum. He was the last to get off the plane because he checked the aisles not once, but twice to ensure all were safely rescued. He and his crew are very adamant that they were “Just doing there jobs”. To see the immediate reaction by all personnel both professional and private that came to the aid of the survivors without any thought of their own safety makes me proud to be an American.

This is just one brief moment we can look at and remember what makes us so great, our people. For at that moment the greatest challenge of his life could have been the worst tragedy of his life. Pilot Sullenberger made one of the greatest achievements in life. He saved not only 155 lives on board, but countless numbers on the ground. As a proud American I will never forget how one person can make such a difference.
Experience, knowledge, honor and courage all came together on that day and gave many of us hope for the future. As tragic as it could have been, it gave the country time to pause and think about their friends and loved ones. For a brief moment, it felt as if we were all united as one, all with hope.

As bad as things may seem now they will turn around. What we have when it does, will be based on what we have gained from our experiences of the past. This is where our challenge comes in. Gun and ammo sales have increased dramatically as we all know, along with this is a rising concern over our rights to have them. We are all hearing of 25 to 50% increases in sales. Most of us have a tendency to wait until the last minute, I am guilty as well! Thank you to all who attended the Banquet and made it a huge success. If it wasn’t for the folks who purchased tickets in the later days it may not have been so good. About a quarter of the tickets were sold in the last week. You see we came together and made a success out of it. Let’s build on that, as well as all the club has to offer. The time to act is upon us for tomorrow just may be too late. Make it a point, this month to talk to at least one person who shares our belief in our gun rights and invite them to join or at least come out and visit the range. I know some people say they just don’t have the money and believe me I know times are hard but the cost of freedom cannot be measured. Together we can grow and be a voice that can be heard from the mountain tops!!

Don’t forget a membership would be a great Valentine gift for your spouse or loved one!

Jim De Piazzy, Membership Chairman  

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Junior action pistol shooters are up and running!

Since September, the Junior Action Pistol group has been meeting the 2nd and 4th Saturdays at the range. Our current group of four junior shooters are learning safe shooting and the rules and regulations of the USPSA.

For shooters without any previous experience in action shooting, a new class will be starting on February 14th, 2009. Experienced shooters can join the group at any time. For more information on the Junior action pistol shooters, contact John Rice at 530-644-1865, or jrshooters@comcast.net.

From Steve Morgan our P.L.I.N.K. Leader...                   

January 6, 2009

Eldorado National Forest                                                                   
Ramiro Villalvazo, Forest Supervisor
Attn: Lester Lubtekin 
100 Forni Road
Placerville, CA  95667

RE:  FSM 7716.1 (1)

Dear Supervisor Villalvazo:

It was nice to personally meet you yesterday at the Forest Service retirees breakfast.  I was especially appreciative of the attention given by you and Lester Lubtekin to explain the Forest Service position on road closure and the one vehicle length from the edge of a road, proposed policy in the Forest Service Manual 7716.1, (FSM).   One of my questions to you was, “I need you to tell me, where does it state the one vehicle length, because it is does not appear in the November 9, 2005 Federal Register, it does not appear in the Sierra Nevada Framework Plan Implementation, nor does it appear in the Court order.”  Lester stated, “You won’t find it in any of those documents it is in the Forest Service Manual.”  You stated, “The direction came from the Washington Office.”  As I stated to you, “The Federal Register and the Sierra Nevada Plan specifically provides for local level decisions, and it seems the Forest Supervisor has the power to make allowances.”  You disagreed.  You said you must comply with the one vehicle length.  If in fact, this is the case, then it appears even the Regional Forester does not have the authority and the Chief of the Forest Service is the one to deal with directly, along with Congressional Representation.  For the public this is a safety and public access issue.   

The encouragement given by you and Lester was for the public to become more involved.  Lester said there could be workshops available at each of the Ranger Districts if funding is available.  The public is to come forward and supply their areas of concern, and these areas may possibly be considered, and possibly be added to the annual use map, although not in time for this years mapping.  This plan will take longer, will cost the Forest Service more money, and this may eventually end up once again, causing Court involvement. 

As previously mentioned in my correspondence to you dated December 22, 2008, in keeping with the commitment by the Grass Roots Committee, Opposing The One Vehicle Length On Our Forest to the general public, enclosed is an additional seventeen pages of the publics statement by signature, to be added to the previous sixty-three pages, of their opposition to the implementation of the proposed parking policy. This too will be forwarded to the Chief’s office along with the previous signatures and correspondence.    

Again, thanks to both you and Lester for your patience in listening to the frustration, and disappointment in the Forest Service.  It is commonly attested too, that change does not come easy for some, and definitely not for many.  As I stated to you, “This parking policy is wrong.”

Sincerely,

MELBA J. RAY-LEAL ~
Grass Roots Chairperson Opposing One Vehicle Length On Our Forests

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Join the NRA here and help the club.

Are you an NRA member? Would you like to join or renew and help the club at the same time? Click here and go to the NRA online signup site.  Every time you join or renew the club gets a small donation from the NRA and every little bit helps the club. You also help support the organization that supports our firearm rights, the NRA.

Notice to all Range Safety Officers:

• Please remember to carry membership applications with you. We are now getting near renewal time so this would be a good opportunity for you to get renewals and new members. Remember if you get a new member to allow them to shoot at no-fee for the day.
• Please print out the current month’s calendar and post at the pistol / rifle ranges. This is very helpful to shooters to have a calendar available at the range. Also remember that the calendar and newsletter are always available on our web site: www.eldoradorodandgun.com

2009 Officers and Directors

Just a reminder that you are subscribed to the El Dorado Rod & Gun Club eNewsletter. We hope that you find this newsletter informational and are enjoying the enhancements that we have made. These enhancements allows us to track delivery of our newsletters, better handle bounced email, allow online newsletter subscribe, unsubscribe, forward and profile update. This also allows us to have an online subscriber link. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and family. Again thank you for your support of the El Dorado Rod & Gun Club.

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