O
PT
U
N
E
W
S
Old Pueblo Trout Unlimited Chapter
(TU Chapter 531)
www.optu.org
V
OLUME
16
I
SSUE
3
T
O CONSERVE
,
PROTECT
,
AND RESTORE
N
ORTH
A
MERICA
'
S
COLDWATER FISHERIES AND THEIR WATERSHEDS
M
ARCH
2008
President’s Message
Greetings Fellow TUers:
There is a lot happening in OPTU this month. We
are moving our meeting from the Sheraton to the
Martha Cooper branch of the Tucson Library on the first
Wednesday of each month. As a conservation
organization, we are able to save some money and
make use of something that is already paid for with our
tax dollars. The meeting will be moved up one half
hour to 6:30 so we can be out of there by 8 pm when
the library closes.
Whitey Keubler has an informal casting clinic each
Saturday morning at 8 am on 14
th
Street just east of
Craycroft. The park is the first street after the Church
and apartments there, just south of Broadway. We
have had a great turn out as fishing time approaches.
People with all sorts of abilities, and rod weights show
up. NOTE that Whitey will be at the San Juan 3/23.
The work day we have set for April 12
th
, looks like
it may be a little too ambitious for us as our friends at
the Forestry Service have voiced their concerns about
the passability of the roads as well as whether the
streams will be free of ice enough for us to do our
work. As a result, we will cancel the April workday.
We will try to schedule it later in the year. Our dates
which are firm dates include, June 21, July 19, August
31, and September 20. Mark your calendars now, and
we will discuss the work days in next months
newsletter.
The annual OPTU banquet held at the Sheraton
saw a number of our members taking home awards for
their hard work and dedication to the club and our
cause. The club was pleased to present engraved
Wheatley fly boxes to each of the following award
recipients.
Dennis and Carolynn Barlett received their award
for their long service to the OPTU board as previously
outlined in our newsletter. It was great to see them
and we look forward to catching up with them at future
workdays and next year’s banquet.
John Singley was recognized for his hard work and
dedication to the OPTU board. John has single
handedly arranged for our meetings to take place at
the new Martha Cooper library at 1377 N Catalina
Ave. the first Monday of every month at 6:30. He also
was responsible for arranging for the design and the
negotiating the purchase of the OPTU shirts and hats
which you see modeled at the board meetings and
work days by some of our better dressed members. As
John pointed out at the banquet he is also organizing
two upcoming fishing trips including this year’s retirees’
trip to Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah. He seldom
misses a work day and in his spare time is involved in
the restoration of the trolley on 4
th
avenue.
Jeff Collins received his award for his service as
President of OPTU for the last three years. Before that
he spent several years as the vice president. Jeff also
wore the hat of Conservation officer for the club during
his tenure as president. His hard work was the driving
force behind our club's accomplishments, which
garnered us a conservation award from Arizona Game
and Fish at this year’s awards banquet. Rather than
riding off into the sunset as he certainly would have
deserved to do, Jeff now is the chairman of the Trout
Unlimited Counsel for the State of Arizona. He also
maintains the position of Conservation officer for OPTU,
and in addition to our work on the Black River in the
White Mountains, Jeff is exploring along with Game and
Fish the possibility of restoration work by our club in
the Pinaleno Mountains (Mt. Graham), as well as the
Chiracahuas. Look for the dates for the work days, and
you will get to meet Jeff at just about any one of them
during the course of the summer.
Clay Hernandez
President
