The crossword on the front cover of April’s Traveler is missing some boxes. I found this out when I walked into Holliday Landing’s office at Wappapello Lake and found that owner Rod Howard had written answers off the edges of the puzzle. After taking a good natured beating, I figured out what happened.

Charlie Slovensky created the puzzle in Microsoft Excel. When I converted the Excel file to a PDF to export it into Traveler’s cover layout, I set the print area too small, dropping off two rows of boxes down the right side and one row across the bottom. My bad.

Here’s a link to the complete puzzle, in pdf and jpeg formats. Clues are on Page 20 of the April print issue. Here’s a link to the solution.

•••

Other than that, it’s been a good week in the Ozarks. The redbud blooms are so thick and heavy in southeast Missouri, it’s a wonder they don’t break off some branches. Why do they call it redbud? Most that I see are a vivid shade of lavender.

•••

I’m beginning to notice cars park along the road shoulders and folks staring at the earth at the edge of the woods. They may be morel hunters, but I haven’t stopped to ask. That’s not a subject anybody wants to discuss, until they’ve brought in their finds.

•••

The U.S. Highway 60 community of Ellsinore made the national news this week when a young man landed a stolen Cessna there that he had flown from Canada. Tracey Holden, executive director of the Ripley County Chamber of Commerce, lives near Ellsinore and said the F16s corralling the Cessna woke her.

•••

Had a nice visit with Ray Joe Haskins while I was in Doniphan. Ray Joe wholesaled me a couple of his books, Bow & River Gigs, to have available for our office visitors, then told me about good times he had competing in team canoe racing around Missouri. He says the annual canoe race at Doniphan has dwindled, but there’s a movement afoot (afloat?) to make a bigger event of it.

The Missouri River 340 has been held in July of the last two years. That’s the only other Missouri canoe race I know about. If you know of others, please drop me an email at estyron@rhtrav.com.

•••

Speaking of office visitors, we’ve had several since Traveler established digs at 21B Vance Road in Valley Park. The office is generally open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and by chance at other times. We’d love to see you, if you’d like to stop by. Call ahead to make sure we’re in. The phone number is 800-874-8423.

•••

There’s a great deal of optimism about this year’s float season among canoe outfitters we’ve talked to this spring. The weather’s been great, especially compared to last spring’s floods, and several report that reservations are coming in at a healthy clip. Though the economy’s down, floating, fishing and camping are affordable family activities.

•••

That’s all for now. Have a great Easter weekend.

Some 200,000 walleye fingerlings were released into the river and allowed to grow since the closure. Effective March 1, 2009, anglers can keep up to four walleyes 18 inches or longer daily. Possession limit is eight. The limits include saugers, a fish that closely resembles walleyes.

— Source: Missouri Conservationist, February 2009

The class will be Friday, March 20, 2009, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday, March 21, 2009, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Students must attend both sessions, which will total at least 10 hours in the classroom. The visitor center is located at the south end of the Wappapello Dam.  Students should bring their social security number, current conservation I.D. number (if they have one) and their own refreshments.  Students may either bring their lunch or make other arrangements for the one hour lunch break on Saturday.

Class size will be limited to 50 students and students must pre-register to enroll in the course.  You may pre-register by calling the Wappapello Lake Management Office at (573) 222-8562 during business hours or just stop by the office.  The course is free of charge.  The class may be canceled if less than 20 students are pre-registered.
Included in the training will be gun safety, information about firearms and ammunition, the role of the hunter and hunting in wildlife management and conservation, responsibilities of the outdoors person, outdoor ethics and hunter preparedness.
Those successfully completing the course will receive a Hunter Education Certification Card from the Department of Conservation.  Such certification is mandatory for hunters born after January 1, 1967, to purchase firearms hunting permits in Missouri.

A regulation enacted on January 1, 1993, requires Missouri Hunter Education students to be at least 11 years of age.  All students age 16 and under attending the course MUST provide proof of age.  Also, students will need to know their mailing address and telephone number.
For more information, please contact Park Ranger Rosie Lemons at the Wappapello Lake Project Office at (573) 222-8562.  For 24-hour lake information, call the Recreation Hotline at (573) 222-8139.   For information concerning hunting/fishing rules and regulations, please contact the Missouri Department of Conservation at (573) 290-5730.

From left, Corps of Engineers Divisional Award Winners: Park Ranger Crystal Baughman from Chief Joseph Dam and Rufus Wood Lake (Northwest Division Region), Stephen Austin (USACE Headquarters), Natural Resources Specialist Park Ranger Andrew Jefferson from Wappapello Lake (National Winner and Mississippi Valley Division Region), Park Ranger Kimberly Baker from Caesar Creek Lake (Great Lakes and Ohio River Division Region), Recreation Specialist Judy Scott (Southwest Division Region).

It’s been a good year for the Corps of Engineers staff at Wappapello Lake.

The Wappapello Lake Project and staff was recognized as the nation’s top U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Natural Resources Management Project of the Year in 2008 and Wappapello’s Natural Resources Specialist Park Ranger Andrew Jefferson was recognized by his peers at the 2008 National Association of Interpreter (NAI) Workshop and Awards Ceremony held in Portland, OR.

Jefferson was recognized as the USACE Mississippi Valley Division Regional Interpreter of the Year. This presentation was a follow up for being recognized as the national recipient of the Hiram M. Chittenden Award for Interpretive Excellence at the senior leaders’ convention this past August in Pittsburgh, PA.

The Hiram M. Chittenden Award is awarded to one who demonstrates outstanding achievement to enhance public understanding of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, promoting positive experiences and attitudes, and encouraging voluntary stewardship of natural, cultural, and created resources.

Jefferson has worked at Wappapello since 1987. He previously worked three years in the St. Louis District.

Other agencies that sent their top interpreter to National Association of Interpreters (NAI) awards ceremony included Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and National Park Service.

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