Austin’s Big Day
Friday, February 16, 2007
Good golly, all I asked for was a little snow to help us enjoy an old–fashioned White Christmas.
Who would have thought the cold and ice would last to the middle of February?
I must admit, though, I did enjoy the much-needed rain we got earlier in the week. We need all the moisture we can get to replenish our ponds, rivers and reservoirs.
Several years ago, The Gazette helped sponsor a youth outdoor story writing contest. For several summers, stories were sent to me and I would choose a winning story each week in two age groups. The kids’ stories brought back many memories of my own childhood adventures.
I remember the first quail I harvested was a bobwhite taken from a hedge row near Hollis.
My first pheasant came from a weedy patch of wild sunflowers. It erupted into the air in a cackling, thunderous flush and was felled with a miraculous shot from my Grandfather’s old 12 gauge single shot close to a weathered barn on an old farmstead in Clay County near Wakefield.
My first fish was a small yellow bullhead using a cane pole during a family gathering at a low water bridge in Humboldt Creek in Wabaunsee County.
That’s what I like about outdoor adventures. The stories and experiences stay with you for a lifetime.
With that in mind, I would like to share a story of one young man’s hunting and outdoor adventures with his grandpa.
Austin Anderson, who lives in north Lyon County, got his first firearm this past Christmas, a Crickett bolt-action 22 caliber rifle. After a little practice shooting at milk jugs and getting Austin used to the new gun, his grandfather, Roger Wells, took him squirrel and rabbit hunting on the family farm on New Year’s Day.
Austin was able to harvest his first squirrel from high in a tree. Grandpa helped Austin clean and cut up the squirrel and his mother, Angela, fixed it for supper a night or two later. Austin was very proud.
That night, for the first time in his life, he had been able to provide a meal for his family and had a day with grandpa that he will remember forever.
Besides being grandpa’s fishing partners, Austin and his sister Andrea delight in gardening and taking care of their farm animals.
Some of life’s simplest treasures are bestowed on us by just being outdoors!
Hunter Education
in the Schools program
Nov. 8, 2006 marked the official kickoff of our Hunter Education in Our Schools campaign.
Portfolios containing a variety of National Shooting Sports Foundation firearm safety education and conservation/wildlife appreciation pamphlets, a Kansas Hunter Education student manual and a copy of the Kansas Hunter Education in Our Schools DVD specially produced for this endeavor were distributed to 126 Kansas elementary, middle and high school principals attending the Kansas Association of Elementary School Principals/Kansas Association of Secondary School Principals Conference.
The DVD also provides a glimpse of the Laser Shot Hunting Simulator. The Laser Shot is a firearm safety training system that can be taken into the schools.
The Hunter Education Division of Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks has plans to participate in vendor displays at the 2007 conferences of the Kansas Association of Middle School Administrators, Kansas Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development and United School Administrators of Kansas.
Its goal is to increase Hunter Education in Our Schools participation in more middle schools starting next fall. Kansas school systems now actively involved in teaching hunter education in the school include Burlington, Tonganoxie, Wellsville and Central Heights.
For more information concerning this program, please contact Monica Bickerstaff, assistant Kansas Hunter Education Coordinator, by phone at (620) 672-0767 or (620) 672-5911, or by e-mail at monicab@wp.state.ks.us.