Columnist Paula DelGiudice: Banquet to help Retriever Club

Paula DelGiudice

Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2001 | 11:24 a.m.

Paula DelGiudice's outdoors notebook appears Wednesday. Reach her at desertdenizens@aol.com.

Tickets are now on sale for the second annual Las Vegas Hunting Retriever Club banquet. The fund-raiser is slated for Friday, Jan. 26, at the Gold Coast. An auction, a silent auction and raffle will be held. Door prizes will also be awarded.

Tickets are $35 or $25 for children under 18. Tables are available for $400. To purchase tickets, contact Ryan Fradella at 433-2819 or at his e-mail address at Rfrade@aol.com.

The banquet helps to fund the club's activities during the year. The organization members have hunting retrievers and are dedicated to improving their abilities and those of their dogs. "We want dogs that are well behaved, know their trade and are happy doing it," said Brad Hardenbrook, spokesman for the organization.

Each month it holds "Fun Days" to help members hone their training skills. There are also obedience workshops and hunting scenarios for the dogs. Part of the time is spent helping the dogs become better socialized.

The club is associated with the North American Hunting Retriever Association and the American Kennel Club. It holds field trials under both organizations' banners.

John McKay, NDOW hunter education coordinator, said the agency will be holding 30 classes in Southern Nevada prior to the April 23 application deadline. He said this is the most ever and should be more than adequate to accommodate all hunters, if they enroll early.

"Hunters who procrastinate may find that all classes are filled," he said. "By enrolling early, hunters can be certain that they will be in a class well before the deadline and will have an opportunity to apply for tags."

Hunters born in 1960 or later are required to have successfully completed a hunter education class in order to purchase a hunting license and apply for big game tags. Hunter education cards issued by Nevada are accepted in all U.S. states and Canadian provinces when purchasing hunting licenses.

Students must obtain a free field guide and workbook from NDOW approximately two weeks before their scheduled class. Questions contained in the workbook must be completed by the time the class begins.

Information about class dates, enrollment times and fees may be obtained by calling NDOW's 24-hour information center at 486-5127.

Information about the meeting and organization may be obtained by calling 528-5808.