Hamilton Reef
08-25-2007, 10:43 AM
Credit Michigan vet for pushing disabled hunt
http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/statewide/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1187736012313780.xml&coll=1
08/25/07 By Bob Gwizdz
If Jerry Welcome gets his way, there will additional hunters in the field for the annual youth deer hunt this season. But they won't be youths.
Welcome, who runs a tavern in the metropolis of Ruby Creek (in Mason County), wants to take disabled veterans out deer hunting during the same time period.
He approached Sen. Gerald Van Woerkum (R, Norton Shores) with the idea and the lawmaker went all in, pushing a bill though the Senate to allow Welcome to stage a hunt for DAVs (as he calls them, for Disabled American Veterans) on some private property in Mason, Oceana and Newaygo counties.
Welcome, who lined up volunteers to aid the vets and has held a fundraising picnic to help with the expenses, says he hopes his pilot project will go statewide next year and nationwide after that.
The only bump in the road he's encountered so far, Welcome said, was when a senator questioned him at a hearing about why he wanted to take something away from the youths.
"I'm not taking a day away from the kids," said Welcome, a Vietnam-era Marine Corps vet. "But our kids wouldn't even have the right to go out hunting at all if it wasn't for the vets."
The Department of Natural Resources is not fighting Welcome's idea, though state officials are scratching their heads a little bit because they think it's unnecessary. The DNR already sanctions a preseason hunt for disabled hunters.
"We're trying to work on it with them, but I don't think the Legislature knew about our disabled hunt in October," said DNR director Becky Humphries.
The idea for the disabled hunt came from former Natural Resources Commissioner Bob Garner, who pushed for it for obvious reasons -- he wanted to hold a hunt for disabled folks outside the normal season so there would be enough volunteers to help transport the disabled hunters.
And though Garner had originally proposed holding it during the youth hunt, many of those hunters wanted it later.
"They didn't want it in September," Humphries said. "They wanted it later when there was better visibility, but still not too cold. We're trying to come up with some kind of compromise, but the DNR is not planning to force the issue."
Welcome says he's met with about a dozen hunters from the Veteran's Administration home in Grand Rapids who want to go on the hunt. He's lined up volunteers from the American Legion post in Hesperia to help out and is in the process of trying to line up some sponsors to make sure the vets have boots and appropriate clothing for the hunt.
Welcome has put a lot into this. He says he's going to build blinds out of hay bales on the properties he's secured so the hunters can be wheeled right into position. He's lined up some golf-carts to get the guys afield and says he'll be out brush-hogging lanes so there's clear access to the blinds.
The biggest hurdle he's got -- assuming the legislation, which is being shepherded through the House by Rep. Richard LeBlanc, D-West, makes it past the governor -- is transportation from the vet's home in Grand Rapids to the northern Michigan hunting grounds. Although the vet's home has a handicapped accessible bus, Welcome said, "They're dragging their feet on transporting the vets."
Time's awaistin'. The Youth Hunt is slated for Sept. 22-23. That gives Welcome only a month to iron out the details. But if for some reason he fails, he'll still have the option of holding the event in October.
So here's a tip of the hat to Welcome for taking the initiative to do something we all should have thought of.
http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/statewide/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1187736012313780.xml&coll=1
08/25/07 By Bob Gwizdz
If Jerry Welcome gets his way, there will additional hunters in the field for the annual youth deer hunt this season. But they won't be youths.
Welcome, who runs a tavern in the metropolis of Ruby Creek (in Mason County), wants to take disabled veterans out deer hunting during the same time period.
He approached Sen. Gerald Van Woerkum (R, Norton Shores) with the idea and the lawmaker went all in, pushing a bill though the Senate to allow Welcome to stage a hunt for DAVs (as he calls them, for Disabled American Veterans) on some private property in Mason, Oceana and Newaygo counties.
Welcome, who lined up volunteers to aid the vets and has held a fundraising picnic to help with the expenses, says he hopes his pilot project will go statewide next year and nationwide after that.
The only bump in the road he's encountered so far, Welcome said, was when a senator questioned him at a hearing about why he wanted to take something away from the youths.
"I'm not taking a day away from the kids," said Welcome, a Vietnam-era Marine Corps vet. "But our kids wouldn't even have the right to go out hunting at all if it wasn't for the vets."
The Department of Natural Resources is not fighting Welcome's idea, though state officials are scratching their heads a little bit because they think it's unnecessary. The DNR already sanctions a preseason hunt for disabled hunters.
"We're trying to work on it with them, but I don't think the Legislature knew about our disabled hunt in October," said DNR director Becky Humphries.
The idea for the disabled hunt came from former Natural Resources Commissioner Bob Garner, who pushed for it for obvious reasons -- he wanted to hold a hunt for disabled folks outside the normal season so there would be enough volunteers to help transport the disabled hunters.
And though Garner had originally proposed holding it during the youth hunt, many of those hunters wanted it later.
"They didn't want it in September," Humphries said. "They wanted it later when there was better visibility, but still not too cold. We're trying to come up with some kind of compromise, but the DNR is not planning to force the issue."
Welcome says he's met with about a dozen hunters from the Veteran's Administration home in Grand Rapids who want to go on the hunt. He's lined up volunteers from the American Legion post in Hesperia to help out and is in the process of trying to line up some sponsors to make sure the vets have boots and appropriate clothing for the hunt.
Welcome has put a lot into this. He says he's going to build blinds out of hay bales on the properties he's secured so the hunters can be wheeled right into position. He's lined up some golf-carts to get the guys afield and says he'll be out brush-hogging lanes so there's clear access to the blinds.
The biggest hurdle he's got -- assuming the legislation, which is being shepherded through the House by Rep. Richard LeBlanc, D-West, makes it past the governor -- is transportation from the vet's home in Grand Rapids to the northern Michigan hunting grounds. Although the vet's home has a handicapped accessible bus, Welcome said, "They're dragging their feet on transporting the vets."
Time's awaistin'. The Youth Hunt is slated for Sept. 22-23. That gives Welcome only a month to iron out the details. But if for some reason he fails, he'll still have the option of holding the event in October.
So here's a tip of the hat to Welcome for taking the initiative to do something we all should have thought of.