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Dive group giving up park meeting place One of the Tri-Cities' oldest outdoor groups, the Atomic Ducks Dive Club, is pulling the plug on its Columbia Park clubhouse. Club president Phil Karl said the club, which began in 1960, is moving out of its longtime meeting place - the cinderblock building with the large red and white slash dive flag emblazoned across the front - because it can no longer afford the increased utilities and insurance costs. Karl said the club has had a unique agreement with the city of Kennewick for about 30 years, which allowed it to use the building east of the Edison Street interchange rent-free in exchange for cleanup dives the club provided the city. "However, it's costing us about $2,000 a year just to stay at the Columbia Park site and we just can't afford that any longer," he said. Karl said the club raised its yearly membership dues, which are $35 a year for individuals and $50 for families - in an effort to cover the added costs, but it still couldn't meet its obligations. Karl also said he asked the city if it could waive any of the utility fees but was told that wasn't an option. The club - which also is one of the oldest dive clubs in the United States - has about 35 members. "It saddens us that we have to leave, but we knew the city had other plans for the park and that someday we would have to leave. We just didn't think it would be now," he added. The club plans to move out of the building, which it has occupied since the late '60s, by Oct. 1. Karl said one negative effect of the club's departure is the end of its agreement with the city for cleanup dives. "Last year we removed about 3,000 pounds of trash from the Columbia River. Right now, we don't know if we'll be doing any cleanup dives next year. We plan to talk to the city about it and we'll see how it goes," he said. While the club is leaving Columbia Park, it is not running out of air. The Atomic Ducks Dive Club - which was formed to promote safe diving and offer divers a place to meet, share information and organize outings - plans to team up with Undersea Adventures in Kennewick. The Tri-City dive shop is certified through the National Association of Underwater Instructors and offers classes from basic scuba diving through instructor. The club also plans to change its meeting times to 7 p.m. the first and third Tuesdays of each month at the dive shop on Clearwater Avenue. "Although we have to give up our own clubhouse, working with the dive shop will be a win-win situation for us because we've been having a difficult time attracting younger divers. But because the shop offers many diving classes, including some at colleges, we hope some of these new divers will join our club," he said. For more information on the Atomic Ducks Dive Club, call 545-6005 or Undersea Adventures at 735-0735. * * * One sign that hunting season is just around the corner is the Richland Rod and Gun Club's annual fall hunting forecast meeting. The program, which begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Richland maintenance facility building on Queensgate Drive across from Wal-Mart, will present a look at hunting prospects for big game, upland birds and waterfowl in Southeastern Washington. On the agenda are Pat Fowler and Lee Stream, wildlife biologists for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, who will discuss opportunities for their respective regions. Also, Gary Hagedorn, with the Fish and Wildlife Service, will outline waterfowl hunting at McNary National Wildlife Refuge, which includes the Peninsula, Two Rivers and Wallula units. The meeting is free and open to the public. For more information on the Richland Rod and Gun Club, visit the Web site at www.members.tripod.com/rrgclub/. * * * If you've been waiting for a chance to have a say in the future management of the Hanford Reach National Monument, the Fish and Wildlife Service has set a public "open house" from 4 to 9 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Consolidated Information Center at Washington State University Tri-Cities in Richland. The public is being asked to share their opinions to help shape future management of the federal monument as the Fish and Wildlife Service develops the Hanford Reach National Monument Comprehensive Conservation Plan and the associated environmental impact statement. A planning workbook with more detailed information on preliminary issues, concerns and opportunities will be provided upon request at the Sept. 9 meeting or by calling the monument headquarters at 371-1801, or by fax at 375-0196. Sportsmen who value the hunting and fishing opportunities the Hanford Reach area provides should make time to attend the meeting.
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