While the Newton County Soil and Water Conversation District is closed until the United States Congress approves government funding, the district is still preparing to host the Newton County Wildlife Expo later this month.
Scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 23, at the American Legion Hut in Decatur, the Wildlife Expo is a free event where one could get all types of information from officials from the Department of Wildlife and Forestry Commission, win door prizes, take part in a silent auction, and socialize with a few other like-minded good folks.
The district is also selling raffle tickets for a Browning AB3 Composite .308 MossyOak Bottomland rifle that will be given away that evening. Raffle tickets are $10 per ticket, or you can get three tickets for $20. You don’t have to be present to win.
This year’s speaker is Kevin Nelms, a wildlife biologist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service out of Greenwood. Nelms will be speaking about Black Bears in Mississippi.
“We’ve had the opportunity to have seen his program and it’s a really interesting discussion,” said District Clerk Robin McDonald. “We reached out to him because he discusses how Black Bears are migrating down from North Mississippi.”
A dinner made up of catfish, French fries, hush puppies, cole slaw, dessert, and drink, will also be provided for $15 per plate.
To date, the soil and water district has over sixty sponsors who have generously contributed to the Wildlife Expo. District Technician Emilie Smith said that they were grateful for sponsors gracious contributions
“This has been our best year with sponsors. We appreciate the support we get,” said Smith.
“We couldn’t do it without them.”
All funds generated from the Wildlife Expo goes directly to county-wide conservation education, including conservation field say at Turkey Creek, a tree giveaway, preschool days, and more.
The program at The Newton County Soil and Water Conservation District Wildlife Expo is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m., while the meal will begin being served at 5:30 p.m. The American Legion Hut is located on Highway 15 South in Decatur.
