Ville Platte Rotary goes bear hunting

Ville Platte Rotary President Peter Strawitz at the weekly meeting updated the membership about upcoming events.
He announced Camp RYLA will be held from June 1 through June 4 at the Boy Scout Camp. “We are gonna cook on Friday night June 2,” he stated. “We’ll need some people to help us with it. So far we have a good start. Anybody else who would like to help us cook and prepare the meal for the campers, please let Wayne (Vidrine) or myself know.”
The Installation Banquet for the new officers, according to Strawitz) will be held Tuesday, June 20. New officers will be President Wayne Vidrine, President-Elect Richard LeJeune, Vice President Nicole Wenger, and Treasurer Vic Slaven and Annette Johnson. “We need a secretary,” Strawitz announced. “I would highly encourage and ask that everyone here who might be interested please consider and contact Janice to see what are those job duties.”
Also according to Strawitz, the induction of the new members Annie Fruge, Jackie Riche’, Scott Smith, Renee Tate, and James Vidrine will be next Tuesday, May 23.
Larry Lachney informed his fellow members that he presented the LSU-E Scholarhips, two RYLA Scholarships, along with the District Rotary Scholarship at Sacred Heart’s graduation this past Sunday.
Strawitz also announced the club was chosen to receive a donation through the Miles Briley Agency. “Allstate has a foundation in which they will donate to a non-profit organization that’s non-governmental and non-religious denominational,” he said. “And so that $1,000.00 will come directly to the club, and we’ll be able to use it for whatever we need.”
“I think last night (at the board meeting) we spent it,” he joked. “We’re going to invest in a sound system so everybody can hear. We’re not going to be screaming, and it’s not humming or buzzing like it’s going to explode like a nuclear bomb.
Rotary member Kip Manuel briefed the club on a bear hunting trip he took to Quebec about 10 years ago. He stated that his friends from out of state called him recently to go back on such a trip. He will going in the beginning of June.
In a question and answer session to close the meeting, Manuel was asked by Nick LeBas how the bears in Canada compare to the ones over here. “It’s the same animal,” Manuel replied. “They just get ... bigger because they need to get a lot more fat” to hibernate during the winter.”
Susan Saunders asked Manuel how he uses the bear. “I eat it,” he answered. “It’s good. It’s really good. The backstraps are delicious, and you get some good roasts out of it.”
Kermit Miller elicted laughter from his fellow members as he quipped, “You can barely taste it.”