River Ridge Fish and Game League held its 33rd annual awards night via a Zoom presentation on March 10 at 7 p.m. Dustin Perepeluk won the Member Recognition Award for his continued involvement in the club's activities. Perepeluk has been the caretaker of the Large Antler Site at Gorlitz since 2014 and had been very active in the River Ridge club for 29 years, according to information provided by the club.
Cooper Kraynick was the Youth Sportsperson of the Year. He was awarded this because of his love of hunting and fishing. He even took up archery so as to be able to hunt longer seasons and brought down his first spring bear by archery. Kraynick also received the Big Game Aggregate awards for his bear, white tail and mule deer that he harvested in 2021.
Big Game
Cooper Kraynick won the Big Game Aggregate award with a total score of 58 points for bear, mule deer and junior white-tailed deer.
Cory Heshka took the non-typical mule deer award at 214 0/8 inches. This qualified for Henry Kelsey Book and placed ninth in the province of Saskatchewan.
Brandon Zuravloff took first place in non-typical white-tailed deer at 200 6/8 inches, qualifying for Henry Kelsey Book and placing 12th in the Province of Saskatchewan. First place in the antelope category was a tie between Hal Thomas and Robin Ludba at 64 2/8 inches.
In other big game categories, the awards went to: Makayla Heshka, ladies white-tailed deer, 129 1/8 inches; Gasper Thomas, junior white-tailed deer, 146 7/8 inches; Andrew Owchar, archery white-tailed deer, 44 5/8 inches; Scott Hanson, typical white-tailed deer, 163 4/8 inches; Neal Matechuk, muzzleloader white-tailed deer; 149 6/8 inches; Everett Paley, typical mule deer, 161 7/8 inches, and Ken Kuzek, moose, 155 6/8 inches.
Fish
The River Ridge awards for fish went to: Neal Matechuk, catch and release walleye, 11 pounds, four ounces; Marty Shimko, catch and release northern pike, 14 pounds, four ounces; Sharon Ripa, ladies catch and release walleye, 10 pounds, 3 ounces; Kasen Heshka, junior perch, one pound, one ounce, and Aidah Walker, junior walleye, two pounds, four ounces.
Other news
Last year during the SWF Convention in February, River Ridge made its annual donation to the Habitat Trust Fund for $10,000. Over the last 33 years, River Ridge has donated in excess of $80,000 to the Habitat Trust Fund for the purchase and conservation of habitat lands in Saskatchewan.
The 2021-22 River Ridge executive members are: Kathy Thomas, president; Sharon Ripa, secretary; Doug Lapitsky, treasurer and habitat; Kate Lockert, memberships, and LeeAnn Butterfield, lotteries.
