The St. Paul Fish and Game Association hosted its annual supper and auction this weekend at the St. Paul Rec Centre. Attendees bid on 68 silent auction items as well as several live auction items and took their chance in a ticket lottery for a .22 rifle.
Firearms were among the major selling points in the live auction, which was hosted by Andy Jubinville. Up for bids were four firearms, including a pink 20-gauge Remington Shotgun 870, 12-gauge pump-action Mossberg shotgun, a .338 Winchester 4x4 and a Camo 25-06 Browning rifle. Other items up for bid included several framed prints and a signed 1972 Team Canada Paul Henderson jersey.
Shannon Leskiw, past-president with the club, emceed the evening and said the event was a way to give back to the community and raise money for the club and its numerous activities.
“Most of the profits we get from this go into the club and then we use it for things like the trout pond and duck nests in the spring-time. In southern Alberta they do pheasant releases. All kinds of little funding things like that will go to help the local fish and wildlife in our area."
One of the issues the group focuses on is conservation for both wildlife and fish. Recently, winter kill has been suspected as the cause of death of an unknown number of fish in St. Vincent Lake. It's issues like these that the club discusses at the annual Alberta Fish and Game Association's (AFGA) annual conference.
“We're just a little local club but we do go to the big conference, we send delegates every year," said Leskiw. “Through the fish and game association, the provincial government gets the input from hunters and fisherman. We do influence, to a certain extent, policy."
The event's dinner was prepared by Shirley's Catering and included roast beef with horseradish, oven-baked chicken with cranberries, mashed potatoes, creamy dill perogies and a handful of trifles, squares and cake. Smoked meats and sausages were also available for attendees to snack on while cocktails were served.
MLA Ray Danyluk as well as County of St. Paul Reeve Steve Upham were among those in attendance. Local Conservative candidate Brian Storseth was unable to attend as he was recovering from appendix surgery after he suffered a ruptured appendix just before his last debate.
According to his twitter feed, Storseth's surgery was successful and he is doing well: “Thx to all the amazing health professionals in St. Paul and the Mis!"
