Daily Archives: April 28, 2016

Macey Hensley stars in Kansas tourism TV ads

Macey Hensley, Council Grove, is being featured in a statewide television ad campaign from the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT). The popular six-year old is shown visiting Exploration Place in Wichita and the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Childhood Home in Abilene. The commercials encourage family travel in Kansas and will run in the Kansas City, Pittsburg, Topeka and Wichita markets April 25 through May.

Last year Hensley was tagged as one of Kansas’ Finest by Kansas! Magazine. She has appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show seven times where she won the hearts of millions of viewers by demonstrating her in-depth knowledge of U.S. presidents from Washington to Obama. She will soon be visiting the Smithsonian Museum in Washington. D.C. courtesy of DeGeneres and is scheduled to appear on the show again on April 29, 2016.

The commercials and a short video of Macey visiting the Statehouse can be found at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfKc4q7vy9wbVDp_0XN6slZbcMfKyZa87

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To plan your family travel visit TravelKS.com

Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission approves waterfowl seasons

The Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission approved season dates and regulations for the 2017 dove and waterfowl hunting seasons at a public hearing in Wichita on April 21. Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) staff have discussed migratory bird hunting regulations at previous meetings in January and March. In the past, these seasons were voted on in August, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service changed the timeframe for having seasons set this year.

The Commission approved dove seasons of Sept. 1-Nov. 29, 2016. This season is for migratory doves (mourning and white-winged) and exotic doves (collared and ringed turtle).  The season for exotic doves is Nov. 30, 2016-Feb. 28, 2017. The aggregate daily bag limit for morning and white-winged doves is 15 and the possession limit is 45. There is no daily bag limit or possession limit on exotic doves.

The Commission also approved the 2016 duck and goose seasons.

September Teal Season: Low Plains Zone – Sept. 10-25, 2016; High Plains Unit – Sept. 17-25, 2016.

Youth Waterfowl Hunting Days: High Plains Unit – Oct. 1-2, 2016; Low Plains Early Zone – Oct. 1-2, 2016; Low Plains Late Zone – Oct. 22-23, 2016; Low Plains Southeast Zone ­– Nov. 5-6, 2016.

Ducks: High Plains Unit – Oct. 8, 2016-Jan. 1, 2017 and Jan. 20-29, 2017; Low Plains Early Zone – Oct. 8-Dec. 4, 2016 and Dec. 17, 2016-Jan. 1, 2017; Low Plains Late Zone – Oct. 29, 2016-Jan. 1, 2017 and Jan. 21-29, 2017; Low Plains Southeast Zone – Nov. 12, 2016-Jan. 1, 2017 and Jan. 7-29, 2017.

Daily bag limit is six ducks with the following restrictions: five mallards (no more than two may be hens), three scaup, three wood ducks, two redheads, two pintails and two canvasbacks.

Dark Geese: Oct. 29, 2016-Jan. 1, 2017 and Jan. 4-Feb. 12, 2017

Daily bag limit is six dark geese (Canada or brant)

White-fronted Geese: Oct. 29, 2016-Jan. 1, 2017 and Jan. 21-Feb. 12, 2017

Daily bag limit is two white-fronted geese.

Light Geese: Oct. 29, 2016-Jan. 1, 2017 and Jan. 4-Feb. 12, 2017

Daily bag limit is 50 light geese (snow geese and Ross’ geese) no possession limit.

Possession limit on migratory birds is three times the daily bag limit.

Dodge City team wins second straight state archery competition

Kansas Archery in the Schools hosted its 7th Annual State Archery Tournament,  Saturday, April 9, at Clearwater High School. Three hundred and fifty-five students from 16 schools vied for the state title and a chance to compete nationally. The top 10 male and female competitors from each grade division at the state tournament qualified to compete at the 2016 National Archery in the Schools Tournament in Louisville, Kentucky, May 12-14.

The 16 schools represented at the Kansas state tournament included: Chapman Middle School, Heritage Academy (McCune), Service Valley Charter Academy (Parsons), Clearwater, Norwich Elementary and Middle Schools, Southeast Junior High School (Cherokee), Dodge City High School, Straight Up Archery (Clay Center), Erie Arrows (Erie), Jackson Heights (Holton), Pittsburg High School, Prairie Trail Middle School (Olathe), Chaparral High School (Anthony), Greeley County Schools (Tribune), and Rose Hill.

Divisions include Elementary School (grades 4-5), Middle School (grades 6-8), and High School (grades 9-12). Each competitor shoots 30 arrows over three rounds. A round consists of five arrows from 10 meters and five arrows from 15 meters. A bullseye scores 10 points, so a perfect score would be 300. A team is made up of 12-24 shooters, and the team score is the sum of the top 12 scores.

Team standings by division:

Elementary School

1st Place – Clearwater Team No. 1: 2,799

2nd Place – Clearwater Team No. 2: 2,017

Middle School

1st Place – Chapman Team No. 1: 3,182

2nd Place – Clearwater Team No. 1: 3,176

3rd Place – Service Valley Carter Academy: 3,063

High School

1st Place – Dodge City Team No. 1: 3,166

2nd Place – Pittsburg Team No. 1: 3,102

3rd Place – Erie Arrows: 2,888

Individual standings by division and gender:

GIRLS

Elementary – Kalea Gooch, Clearwater: 252

Middle School – Avery Schill, Clearwater: 269

High School – Jasmin Havens, Pittsburg: 277 *Top girls’ score

BOYS

Elementary – Bryson Snell, Clearwater: 251

Middle School – Zachery Ferris, Chapman: 280

High School – Justin Ostrom, Dodge City: 287 *Top boys’ score, top overall score

If the name Ostrom appears familiar, Justin’s older brother, Jhett won state last year with the top score of 279. Justin secured the top score this year using the first place awarded Genesis bow that Jhett won last year!

Operating under the umbrella of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) and the National Archery in the Schools (NASP) program, the Kansas Archery in the Schools program promotes international-style target archery among students in grades 4-12. Program coordinators introduce archery as a fun, lifelong activity to young people who may have never taken up the sport otherwise.

A 3D archery range was also set up as a separate activity for the students to take their archery skills to another level. The 3D animal targets are made of high density foam and show scoring rings that are anatomically placed over the animal’s vitals. The 3D challenge was added by NASP to show students just one of the many options to grow in archery after NASP.

For more information, visit ksoutdoors.com or email Aaron Austin at [email protected].