Senior Life Services gets donated turkeys

Senior Life Services of Morgan County received a donation of 16 frozen regular turkeys from the National Wild Turkey Federation of the Eastern Panhandle.

The turkeys will be cooked and served at the Thanksgiving luncheons at the senior centers in Berkeley Springs and Paw Paw this week, said Senior Life Services executive director Joel Tuttle. They expect to serve a total of 300 meals to seniors, staff and volunteers at both locations.

That total includes some 60 home-bound seniors from both centers that will also receive full-course Thanksgiving meals with all the trimmings. The donation of turkeys will allow them to spend more money on serving seniors in the future, Tuttle said.

The Berkeley Springs Senior Life Services center will have its Thanksgiving luncheon tomorrow and their Paw Paw Senior Center Thanksgiving luncheon will be held on Friday, November 16. Luncheon tickets can be acquired at either senior center, Tuttle said.

National Federation

of Wild Turkeys

The National Federation of Wild Turkeys has been donating turkeys to regional organizations for Thanksgiving luncheons and dinners for the last three years, said member Carl Kief.

They decided to extend their turkey donations throughout the Eastern Panhandle this year to Senior Life Services of Morgan County, the Senior Center in Martinsburg, the Shenandoah Women's Center, the Loaves and Fishes in Martinsburg and the Paw Paw Lions Club, said Kief.

The local chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation has been in existence since 1978. They donated 80 turkeys this year and 100 turkeys last year to community organizations, he said. They have been giving turkeys to the Paw Paw Lions Club for years. The Lions Club makes Christmas baskets for families that include the turkeys, Kief said.

Scholarship fund, other

projects

The National Wild Turkey Federation of the Eastern Panhandle generates money for a scholarship fund with their annual banquet dinner that is held every March at the Berkeley County Youth Fair. They also raise money for conservation and research.

The chapter contributed $195,000 to help purchase 1,000 acres in Monongalia County for public use for hunting, hiking and boating, Kief said. They also held a spring youth hunt to help kids get outdoors. Young people don't have as many opportunities to enjoy the outdoors with parents working so much, he said.

The National Wild Turkey Federation is a non-profit organization with 500,000 members in 50 states, Canada and 11 foreign countries, according to its West Virginia state chapter Web site.

It supports scientific wildlife management on public, private and corporate lands and wild turkey hunting as a traditional American sport. There are now more than seven million wild turkeys and approximately 2.6 million turkey hunters from the organization's efforts.

According to the site, turkey hunting has become the fastest growing form of hunting and has the second-highest number of participants of any type of hunting.

For more information on the National Wild Turkey Federation, go to www.nwtf.org or www.wvstatechaptern wtf.com.