Bill Ashcraft read aloud from a plaque that honored Dr. James Rich for his 36 years of service as District 5 Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife. Pictured from left, Dr. James Rich, Bill Ashcraft, Linda Saunders, Dan Saunders, Joseph Ruessler, John Pferrman and Chet Hayes. Photo by Roger McKinney.

By Roger McKinney, Reporter

The District 5 League of Kentucky Sportsmen held its January meeting in Cold Spring on the 29. The event was hosted by the Pferrman’s Gun Club. More than 100 individuals were in attendance and over 30 sportsmen clubs were represented.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife oversees nine state districts or areas. District 5 includes these 13 counties: Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Harrison, Henry, Kenton, Owen, Pendleton, Robertson and Trimble. 50 League of Kentucky Sportsmen Clubs are active in District 5.

Before the actual business meeting a banquet was served for an hour, beginning at 7 p.m. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Biologists gave a number of reports. The sportsmen were informed that the Kentucky deer harvest for 2012 was 131,388 and that the wild turkey harvest for 2012 had exceeded 30,000 birds for the third year in a row. The sportsmen were told that the level of water in Kincaid Lake would be raised by 24 inches after written permission was given by lakeside land owners.