The spring season has drawn to a close and there appears to have been no improvement. This weekend, it was 29 visitors from the Calvert Marine Museum and Fossil Club and the Catawba Valley Fossil Club — they collected the NCPC site. Although there had been seven inches of rain in three weeks, there was no noticeable effect on the results.

The meg's were few and small (Becky a black 3-5/8" specimen and Ken Young a two-incher). The best "mako" was Greg Mullins' 2-1/4 inch "xiphodon".

Notorynchus teeth continue to brighten the collecting day. Lowers were found by Becky, Melissa, Bill Counterman & Glenn Bollick and uppers by Pam Platt, Eric & Melissa.

Bill Counterman also found a bramble tooth and both Chuck Soares & Eric picked bramble denticles. Glenn Bollick found a nice piece of shark cartilage.

According to Pat, "Kathy Haberney brightened the skies with her smile upon discovering her first Squalodon molar and a sperm whale tooth. John Everette found a sperm whale tooth over 6 inches long and Mark Shaw another (about four inches). Ken found a pathological seal vertebra and Candace smiled as she always does upon finding seal material."

As part of the Fossil Festival weekend, a Special Friends group visited the mine. They first tried Block 26A, but despite 4 inches of rain during the week, it hadn't recovered from the past weekend's collecting. Pat noted that it yielded, "a few nice 'makos' and cuviers". Block 26B, despite its small size, produced better. Pat reports:

"The only meg I saw today was a real winner: Joy Pierce found a beautiful Yorktown 5-1/2 inch anterior upper tooth in great condition. It was the typical golden tan. Only a tiny bit of root was showing. That was the only meg found."

"Melissa Manwaring found a Paratodus benedeni that was 2 inches tall, measured straight up. Likewise, it was a perfect tooth. Other interesting teeth found were: Squatina (Jay Goldberg), Bramble (me and Kim Greene), Notorynchus symphyseal (Bonnie Chaussee), and a Cetorinus gill raker (Uyen Le). Quite a few lower Notorynchus were found and couple of nice uppers. Bill Heim found a very large pathological Hemipristis (in 26A)."

"Some other interesting finds for the day included: porpoise ulna and radius (Debbie Burdette), Squalodon molar (Jason Kowinsky), Squalodon canine (Ellie Rouse), amber/copal (Doug Chaussee), crocodile tooth (Ellie Rouse) and a seal femur (Phocine sp) by John Everette."

After reading these reports from the last few weeks, I would suspect that today's collectors weren't particularly hopeful. Yet, the American Fossil Federation showed as did some individuals. They would be collecting Block 26A, an area that had only a small amount of rain during the week, however, there was plenty of wind. Saturday was mild, breezy and overcast.

Three megs showed, Jennifer Bower's 3-1/2 inch Pungo upper and Yorktown specimens John Markland's 2-5/8" anterior and Holly Hamilton's 1-1/2 inch posterior. Even better, four C. carcharias teeth were found. The largest was Gary Thorne's complete 2-3/4 inch "beauty", others were found by Larry Bower, John Markland, and Stef Shaver.

Pat went on to report, "A nice mottled color 2-1/4 inch "xiphodon" was found by Marlene Murdock. Lots of smaller ones were found by almost everyone else. This area has been a consistent supplier of cuvier and Notorynchus teeth and today was no exception. One person found five Notorynchus lowers and I think everybody had at least one cuvier. I found two Squatina teeth, Sharron Edwards a split-tip Dusky, and... BJ found her first bramble and two shark rostral nodes to keep it company. Ken found a large piece of rib bone with serrated bite marks and Eric found a complete seal humerus."

This was a back-to-back weekend made up of individuals and various clubs (Delaware Mineral Society, Washington DC Gem and Mineral Society, Henderson County Gem and Mineral, Tarheel Gem and Mineral Club and Black River Fossil Club). The Saturday group collected Block 26A and Sunday, NCPC. Both days lacked stunning finds. Keith Robertson (DMS) found a 3-7/8 inch meg in 26A, and Sunday's big un was a 2-1/2" Pungo meg.

John Everette continues to avoid large shark teeth. On Saturday he found a large section of a myliobatid mouth plate, and on Sunday, a 1/4-inch diameter sand dollar. One collector managed to pick five Notorynchus teeth on Sunday, but for the most part, it was the 'usual suspects'. Pat came across a Squalicorax kaupi while working the Pungo, a good reminder that reworked material is present in the fauna.

The weather has been heating up at the mine and Pat suggested that I remind readers to bring plenty of water.

It was disconcerting to read in Pat's report the number of collectors that were present. It would appear that clubs are reserving slots and neither using nor canceling them. I can understand an individual, who has collected this fauna in the past, not wanting to visit during this collecting drought. However, reserving slots and not using them only denies access to others (the less jaded). In addition, there is a large number of volunteers that continue to show up to support invited visitors. Paleo-club officers that schedule these visits should be more attentive to this situation.

Well, I think we've all had the experience of modifying a field identification once we've cleaned a specimen and looked at it under a lens. In this case, it was the unanimous judgment (except for John who deemed it an Alligator) last weekend that BJ's specimen was a crocodile. WRONG!!! After cleaning and closer study, it turned out to be a marlin vertebral fragment. Misidentifications are a fact of the hobby -- they happen all the time. I jumped to conclusions in the Aril 6th news when I suggested I found multiple otoliths. When I studied my material, there was only one (a haemulid, cf Haemulon).

Pat provided an image of this leavirite and wrote, "It was a partial marlin vertebra mostly covered with clay. The "tooth" part was the inner core of the vertebra. Even on close scrutiny, if the core was removed, it would be have been difficult to tell the difference from a tooth. Sorry ... "

This weekend showed no improvement from last, at least for those looking for the big one.

Saturday (May 3rd). There was a good turnout by collectors from the New York Paleontological Society and National Aquarium. The morning was spent in Block 26A and the afternoon in 26B. According to Pat, "Block 26A yielded two outstanding fossils: a partial seal jaw with a molar in it (Randy Ward) and a partial crocodile jaw with one tooth in it (BJ Blake). 26B brought forth three nice Pungo megs, a 3-1/2" by Fred Pugliese and 3-inchers by BJ and Michael Bradford. The area also produced two Carcharodon carcharias (Harry Chow and Ron Edwards)." Ron also found a perfect pilot whale ear periotic. Sharron Edwards picked 5 associated porpoise teeth and Mike Horvat brought out a huge whale vert. Most vertebrate material was limited to an assortment of small mako, cuvier,, Carcharhinus & Notorynchus teeth and several nice bird bones.

Sunday (May 4th). The Delaware Valley Paleo. Society was in for a make-up day. They tried the NCPC site, where most of the good Yorktown material is now under water. JoAnn Caffery got the day's largest tooth, a 2-7/8 inch Pungo meg and Bob Gibbs found a 2-1/4-incher. Otherwise, it was the usually suspects.

Well, the tailings got a weekend off and plenty of rain, but, judging from Pat's reports, there's no easy pickins.

Saturday (April 26). Saturday started out a bit cloudy but nice and warm. It was the day for Richmond Gem & Mineral and the Grand Strand and Myrtle Beach Fossil Clubs. Afternoon rains hastened the day's departure and Pat didn't have the chance to visit with all the collectors. She wrote:

"The largest tooth I heard about today was a perfect Carcharodon carcharias in the three inch range -- never got to see it. Another was found by Wayne Baker, it was 1-7/8". Jerry Winthrow got a great brown 2-1/4" hastalis. Two really nice lower "xiphodons" were found by Bob Johnson and Mason Harper, each 1-3/4". Plenty of smaller teeth and cuvier's were taken, having been washed out by yesterdays' rain. I saw Notorynchus lowers found by Bob Johnson, John Arthur & Karen Hayes."

"The gems of the day were found by Becky, a complete bramble (very tiny) and Candace, a perfect Isistius tooth. Ron Edwards found a shark rostral node and a complete posterior section of a porpoise skull. He also uncovered sections of two other skulls and a pristine porpoise humerus."

Sunday (April 27). On Sunday, the Dahlgren Paleo Society and some individuals got the chance to test the NCPC area (all of the south side, to the left of the pipeline, is under water). The weather was good, but... Pat wrote:

"The only complete meg tooth was Victor Fabiani's -- a perfect 1 inch posterior from the Pungo. The usual collection of mako-types was picked, some in the 1-3/4 inch range and all in great condition. They appear to have been very recently exposed by this weeks' downpours."

"Rains also helped the cow shark collectors. Perfect lower Notorynchus were found by Mike Luce (3), David Elliott (2), Nancy Collins (1). Tom Hymer brought out a nice upper. Several extremely large (1-1/2" +) Hemis were found by Adam Rountree, Rita McDaniel and John Everette.

Becky and Rita each found Squalodon teeth with roots and Melissa a seal tooth. I found a bramble that had lost its root -- UGH. Steve Noel was very proud of his large coprolite, probably porpoise, Becky said."

Sunday was breezy and in the 70s. Twenty-two visitors from the Alabama Paleontological Society, East Coast Fossil Club and Virginia Gem and Mineral Society would collect Block 26A. The day's collecting didn't sound particularly prolific, but Pat says, "all the collectors were enthusiastic".

Three smaller megs were reported, the largest being Kim Greene's 2-3/4" upper anterior. Unlike last weekend, larger Cosmopolitodus teeth were being found. The largest was Marge Kaluas' 2-7/16 "xiphodon"/hastalis, but there were a number of 2-inch class teeth spotted by Pat and lots of smaller ones. Close collecting continued to produce Notorynchus lowers, Pat thought Chris Vandall's was noteworthy. She also noted that Nando Musmarro found two nice dermal scutes.

Pat went on to report, "Other finds included a toe bone from a large wading bird and two pristine fish dorsal spines, one of which I believe is a filefish — too cool!. The find of the day can only be John Powell's' grapefruit-sized piece of copal. It was reddish brown and very smooth. Ellie Rouse also found a smaller piece."

The NCPC area has now been 1/4 reclaimed, but it had some 5-inches of rain during the week. The Maryland Geological Society, NC Aquarium, and various individuals (about 30 in total) had the chance to sample the results this Saturday. The results weren't great, but Pat reports a few good finds.

A few small "megs" were found: a pretty 2-5/8" Pungo specimen by Chris Hurd and smaller examples by Rose Gilbert (2"), Grady Frame (2-1/4") and John Adams (1-1/4"). There were a number of bigger hastalis teeth, the largest being John Adams' 2-1/8 inch specimen. Notorynchus and Squatina teeth continue to be reported.

Neat miscellaneous finds included those by: Chip Ohlhaver (outstanding 2-3/4" diameter shark vertebra), Chris Hurd (horse tooth), Mike Leonardi (sperm whale tooth), Rita McDaniel (pilot whale tooth), Eric Thompson (keyhole limpet — Diodora pamlicoensis), Jeff Fisher (Squalodon canine), Daryl Serafin (juvenile Squalodon molar) and Pat Young's crab (mostly complete in Pungo matrix).

[Ken Young's bramble tooth image has been added to last weeks's report.]

Pat had the reporting weekend off — it was the NJPS's (and mine) weekend to sample this season's collecting. On these occasions, I attempt to fill Pat's shoes. We were joined by members of the Hatteras Fossil Club, Old Dominion Earth Science Society and National Capital Fossil Society.

Before getting to the collecting details, a short warning to newcomers — watch your speed when driving between Chocowinity and Aurora. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for the little red car with NY plates that was pulled over on Route 33. I'm sure he was merely distracted by the wisteria, but Smokey doesn't care if you catch the bus or not.

For the rest of us, the morning started quite pleasantly — good friends and nice weather. We were pleased that Block 26A was our destination, it seemed to hold the most promise. Although Melissa's great meg kept hope alive for some, most collectors seemed to consider Becky's super bramble (from a couple weeks back) to be a more reasonable achievement to emulate. A number of true believers followed George Powell and John Everette into the Yorktown, but it was the Pungo exposures that garnered the first and most worshippers. I say this, because this mass of humanity was on hands and knees before this Miocene god for hours on end. The collector's mindset appears to have changed from last season — collecting the Pungo is being more broadly recognized as an opportunity to find new and interesting material rather than a poor alternative to the Yorktown. I have long thought so, but it was nicer when these sediments were ignored by most. The quote of the day came when a very experienced collector was overheard proudly proclaiming, "I've got 6 barracuda teeth already!"

From a personal perspective, the Pungo sediments are showing the stress of this heavier attention. I probably picked 100-150 shark teeth, far fewer than in the past with much fewer large ones were in the mix. On the positive side, I found myself paying greater attention to the surface and picked a number of otoliths, which I would typically have missed in the past.

The wind picked up in late morning, moving a great deal of surface sand into the eyes and ears. At one point I was staring at a featureless surface and this flowing sand slowly uncovered a perfect 'contortus' as I watched (who needs rain?). Storm clouds began to gather then intermittent rain. A crack of thunder brought out the horn and three blasts — the sign to leave immediately. This unexpected event disrupted my earnest attempt to get a good rundown of the day's finds (I'm not Pat), but I can provide a few details.

The top find was Ken Young's perfect bramble (a convert to Pungoism?). I'd be inclined to award second place to Ron Edwards for his four associated bird bones that made up a humerus & ulna (wing) of a relatively large bird. I'll leave third place available for a specimen I missed. The day's largest shark tooth was Art McGreevy's 2-3/4 class meg. Hastalis teeth were generally small and not particularly abundant — Sharon Edward's 2-incher being the largest I know of. There were a good number of nice Notorynchus teeth (I found five but only an upper was complete) and some of the less common species (Squatina and Alopias). For the most part, the shark teeth recovered could largely be ascribed to a few genera Galeocerdo/ Physogaleus (cuvier, aduncus, contortus), Carcharhinus (5 or so species), Hemipristis and Carcharias.

Marine mammal material has not stopped. These included: whale & porpoise teeth & vertebrae (including an 8-inch diameter vert) and seal bones (George Powell had a neat astragalus). The quality of collecting is certainly not as it was, but these Lee Creek tailings continue to yield fossil material well in excess of other sediments.

The North Carolina Museum of Natural History and Aurora Fossil Clubs lucked-out on Saturday with the weather. The Delaware Valley Paleo Society and Hatteras Fossil Club were less fortunate — as Pat remarked, "the fossil trip was cancelled due to the nasty weather. Temps dropped 15 degrees in one hour and torrential rains fell." I hope this bodes well for next weekend, the NJPS and myself will be visiting.

This week, Pat's report is tendered directly.

"Today was nice and warm, but we were greeted with a heavy but short rain shower at 9:30. (It had rained, briefly but furiously, on Friday.) We collected Block 26A -- the older section.

Finally, a day that produced a meg reminiscent of the teeth that made Lee Creek famous. Melissa Manwaring, after 14 years of collecting Lee Creek, found her first biggie -- a 5-5/8" megalodon (UA1). It was a beautiful tan tooth, nice 'bourlette', and perfect strong root! It couldn't have gone to a more deserving person. Only a small amount of the tip was showing in a small gully. Later in the day, she found a small posterior meg... Other really nice 'megs' were found by Glenn Branch (3-7/8", beautiful Pungo), Joy Pierce (a large posterior), Betsy Hallman (large posterior) and Rita McDaniel (3-1/4" Pungo).

There were some nice large 'xiphodon'/hastalis-types found including a two-incher by Joy Pierce. Others were close to that size. Ken found a 2" hastalis upper. There were lots of Notorynchus as well, including an upper by Sam Schmid (correct spelling), and lowers by Mary Weeks and Beth Willard. (I'm sure I missed some.) Galeocerdo cuvier were very abundant as always. Lots of Carcharhinus teeth are still being found including some large duskys. Candace found a nice ray scute with two denticles.

Mammal material included a horse tooth (Chris Kesler), bird coracoid (Candace), and a seal metacarpal (Robert Mullen). Surprisingly, several whale vertebrae were recovered today -- the rain must have helped.

Everybody left with a bag full of goodies, ..."

It was another of those 'great weather, but...' days. This Saturday it was in the low 70s and breezy, and followed a week which produced 2-1/2 inches of rain. The NCPC area was targeted, but the available exposure was smaller than previously this season -- PCS is reclaiming parts, and portions to the left of the pipeline are now closed. To further hamper collecting, much of the good Yorktown has been bulldozed for roadways. It seems likely that Blocks 26A and 26B will be the areas of choice.

Our regular reporter is back and provided a list of items she saw -- I wouldn't call it prolific. Zack Hubbard had the day's only complete meg (1 inch), but his two brambles and complete sand dollar are certainly noteworthy. Pat noted that, "the large teeth of the day were found by George Powell and Ramona Krailler who each found 2.25 inch hastalis/'xiphodon' upper anteriors. Other nice mako-types were found by Laura Norris, John Powell and Dick Grier, Sr."

Although few Hemipristis & Carcharias teeth were found, Pat saw quite a few cow sharks, both uppers and lowers (Duane Hubbard, John Everette, Melissa Manwaring, and others). Percolating to this report's surface is now Alopias superciliosus (Dick Grier, Jr., Ramona and three from Eric Thompson). This is partly the result of kneepad collecting and the lack of other finds to report. BJ Blake did find a patho dusky with a split tip.

Mammal teeth were also scarce, a Squalodon incisor found by Melissa and a 3-inch whale tooth by George Powell. Pat went on to report that "three complete echinoids were found BJ, Dick Grier, Jr. and a 2-incher in a 50# slab of limestone matrix which was hauled out by two people from the NC Maritime Museum. It was a beauty."

This was the last of the Special Friend's visits, but with Pat's injury, BJ out of town, etc., no reporter was available. It's likely they would have visited the NCPC area. However, it does provide an opportunity to show another of weekend 1's nice finds courtesy of Ed Swiatovy — John Everette's Paratodus.

Also of interest might be Michael Farmer's Eight Sisters, an associated set of Pristis teeth from the Chandler Bridge.

I guess this weekend's visitors fared better than Caesar, but not by all that much. It was the North Carolina Fossil Club's (35 + member/guides) turn, and even though the collecting conditions were perfect, the results were not (there had been little rain). Most of the day was spent in Block 26B (the new area) but it was supplemented by a short visit the old Block 26 area. Pat's on injured reserve, so Rich Olsen provided an overview of the results.

The site icon (the meg) was represented by single 2-inch specimen (Arlene Schuster). Hastalis (and "xiphodon") fared better — 1-1/2 to 2-3/4" specimens by Melissa Manwaring (6), Valerie Kreil, Mike O'Malley and others. Becky picked a bramble and Todd Power a Hexanchus lower. Notorynchus, large cuviers and Hemis were found, but not in great abundance.

Possibly the top find of the day was Frank Hyne's "beautiful 'gem' seal molar in a jaw fragment". Richard commented on, Joanne DuBrock's Squalodon canine, Ron Edwards' large (8") section of porpoise jaw and Sharron Edwards' beautiful 1+" porpoise tooth. Recovered material also included: "some turtle and bird bones, ray scutes, and a large amount of assorted fish material." He went on to note that, "Most finds were the result of diligent use the 'Pungo Crawl' technique in patches of Yorktown and Pungo sediments. Future collectors should bring their kneepads!"

Weekend 1 produced three Notorynchus symphyseals, and Ed Swiatovy captured a very good image, see below. (I'd like to remind readers that if you do find a prime specimen, other readers would like to see it — please feel free to submit images.)

The weather was good as twenty-six more Friends of the Museum boarded the bus. With lots of rain late in the week, there was some hope that Block 26 (newer section) would prove productive. It didn't take long to realize they were wrong. The fossil collecting is still good, it's the shark tooth collecting, particularly the big ones, that is poor.

Pat Young reported seeing only a single meg (Rick Gray's 2-1/2" chubutensis). Quite a few hastalis teeth were found, mostly smaller but in good condition. Matt Wojtko got an "outstanding hastalis upper anterior". On the bright side, Pat noted that three Carcharodon carcharias were found, two uppers and a lower. She saw a half dozen Notorynchus and three Squatina, a sure sign of people using/needing kneepads. BJ Blake picked a shark rostral node.

Seals seem to be the mammal of the season. This week it was a seal canine (Rita McDaniel), a "really nice" vertebra (Betsy Hall) and a toe bone (Candace). A couple sperm whale teeth and a half dozen bird bones were also reported. Pat noted that Clayton Smith's bird humerus was particularly good. Fish and invertebrate material continues to prove abundant. For those not looking for a trophy tooth, the season may provide good fossil collecting.

I'd also like to suggest (to those with high-speed connections) a Belgium website. It has many of the features that I would deem fatal when it comes to a recommendation — it's still under construction and uses unnecessary, and very annoying, graphics and other techno-clutter. However, its Eocene (Ypresian & Lutetian) sections contain some great tooth images. So, give a visit to Belgium Shark teeth

Rich Olsen, President of Friends, reported on the first day. "Perfect conditions were present at the NCPC site on March 1, but high hopes quickly eroded when little new surface material was present at the sites which produced last year. Apparently abundant rain is not enough to renew this site. Last year the new roadwork apparently was the key to first-day success, and no similar work was done since last season. That being said Saturday was not a complete "wash-out" by any means. At least six megs ranging from 1-1/2 to 2-3/4" were found by Debbie Burdette (1-3/4, 2"), Jeff Sparks (2-3/4") and Rich Olsen (2-1/2", nearly perfect) along with many damaged specimens found by other participants. Several nice makos (Sharron Edwards: 2-3/4" & Jeff Sparks: 1-3/4") and a number of Notorynchus teeth were found along with a scattering of Squalodon teeth (Ira Guy & Jeff Sparks), ray scutes, echinoid (Brian Bowles) and sperm whale teeth (Doris Speicher & Tom Caggiano)."

He went on to note, "'Find of the Day' honors are shared by B J Blake who found a 1-1/4" barracuda "palatine" tooth with attached jaw fragment (ID by Bill Heim) and Kathy Swiatovy who found a large (adult thumbnail-sized) perfect Notorynchus symphyseal."

With all the rain this winter, the "Special Friends" kick-off weekend was greatly anticipated. This is really a tale of two exposures. Saturday was thought to be the better date (NCPC site) when compared with Sunday (Block 26).

Saturday started out rather cool (40s) and windy. Although temperatures warmed to shirtsleeve-temperatures, the collecting never did. Material just hadn't weathered-out over the winter. Pat wasn't scheduled to report on Saturday's details, so it will be simply described as disappointing.

In contrast, Sunday greeted collector with warmer weather (60s, until the wind picked-up) and much hotter collecting. It seems the Block 26 tailings are much more readily eroded. Pat Young provided an overview.

Cabby Pierce, Brian Hempy, Jay Goldberg and Fred Mazza all found small (2 to 2-1/2") megs. Hastalis ("xiphodon") teeth were more abundant and sometimes larger — the nicer ones included those by Amy Lore (2-1/2"), Ditchweezil (2-7/8"), Eric Sadorf (2-3/4") and George Powell (2-1/4" lateral upper). Harry Hyduck found a 1-1/4 extant great white and Michael Dunn an upper Hex. Notorynchus were common — Eric Sadorf (4), Ditchweezil, Becky Hyne (2), Cabby Pierce, Cathy Swiatovy, BJ Blake(2), Ken Young and symphyseals by Paul Murdoch and Melissa Manwaring. BJ also found a Squatina. The top shark tooth of the day was John Everette's pristine Parotodus benedeni (2-3/4"). [It's certainly good to see that John is getting back into shark teeth.]

Recovered seal material included a metacarpal (Michael Dunn), phalange (Jim White) and canine tooth (Rita McDaniel). A number of individual sperm whale teeth were found (Linda Jennings, BJ, and Cathy Swiatovy) but nothing beats persistence -- Richard and Shelda Altman dug out 11 associated sperm whale teeth! Block 26 continues to yield bird bones (Becky, Jim White, Ron Edwards and Linda Jennings' 7 associated). Lastly, George Klein came up with a horse tooth.

A safety person instructed visitors that goggles were required when chipping rock only, and there was no need to wear them all the time. Pat said that, the "parking lot morning chatter both days included a lot of steel toe comparisons. It was kinda cute. Lots of moaning by those who had paid too much".

This season's slots have been awarded and as anticipated, the first (160) will be going to Aurora Fossil Museum's Special Friends. Since there is a limit to 35 collectors per trip, that would be the first 4 or 5 collecting days.

There is one new rule that will cost most of us a few bucks, and I'll quote,

Our Safety Department has asked us to announce that MSHA has required that anyone in the Mine Area will be required to wear steel toed shoes or boots and safety glasses. In the past this rule has not been enforced but with the start of the Spring Season it will be required before hunters are allowed to board the bus. We will continue to furnish hard hats and safety glasses, but the individuals will have to supply their own steel toed boots. Full compliance is expected and required.

The word has got out, albeit slowly, but there will be a Spring Season. This year it will be from March 1st to May 24th (Saturdays only) and "Friend's of Museum" members (top level) will get the first weekend.

Attempts to gain access to "the Pit" have failed, and collecting will again be limited to NCPC & Block 26, the tailings tendered the last couple years. For those calling in for their clubs, Curtis will be taking emails or phone calls for slots until Friday, Jan 24th.

The Aurora Museum is actively working on its own website, which they hope to "have up" by spring. If they follow through on their intentions, the Lee Creek News may eventually have a new home. I view this with mixed emotions. Although it has been nice reporting on each weekend's activities over the years, it could at times be a pain. So, we can all watch for their site — when it's 'up-to-speed', the transition should begin.