| Orange
County Shooters News from the Orange County NY, NY State and the Nation of interest to gun owners and sportsmen SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2004 Newsletter |
NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER |
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Please put these comments in your news letter. |
The following letter appeared in my local newsletter's letter to the editor on 10/15/04: http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2004/10/15/15leters.htm
| Kerry is a strong supporter of sportsmen's rights to hunt and fish. He is a lifelong hunter. He is a gun owner and he believes in the right to bear arms. Kerry emphasized his strong belief in the Second Amendment. He has said that he will "work to ensure that the basic rights of all Americans to legally and safely hunt and fish are protected." He will support greater land conservation for hunting and fishing, and will work to prevent the construction of new roads into our remaining roadless areas, specifically to prevent further fragmentation of our forests. Bush, on the other hand, is clueless on the environment. He has a devastating environmental record which will have long-term detrimental affects on hunting and fishing and our own health. Bush released new guidelines in January 2003 that will reduce federal wetlands protection. Bush proposed a rule that would remove mercury emissions from Clean Air Act regulations that have been used to limit the most toxic air pollutants. Mercury contamination in fish is poisoning us. Just read the advisories in your 2004 fishing regulation manual. Pete Snyder Lake Ariel, Pa., (psnyder@ptdprolog.net) |
I called the local board of elections
and they have him listed as a republican and I checked on the internet
and found out that the same letter was sent by the same person to several
other papers.
River Reporter:
http://www.riverreporter.com/issues/04-10-07/letters.html
Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, PA: http://www.bradenton.com/mld/thetimesleader/news/editorial/letters/9860046.htm
I called dear old Pete and he said that
he had sent the letter to about 5 papers. When I started to talk to him
I found out that he was very uninformed because he thought that the assault
weapons ban had to do with full-atuo guns, he did not know that Kerry
was supported by the anti-gun and anti-hunting groups, he did not know
that Kerry had co-sponsored a bill that would ban many current semi-auto
hunting guns or that Kerry had voted to ban hunting ammo.
When I asked him if he felt the 2nd Amendment
had more to do with protecting our hunting rights than our right to keep
and bear arms he started to talk about the type of guns that they had
when the 2nd Amendment was written. I said that you can not talk about
that because to agree with that you would also have to agree that the
"Press" at the time only had hand written letters and everything
that was printed was hand printed on a press one at time and the type
was hand set. The founding fathers could have never envisioned the modern
printing press and the internet, TV and radio so the 1st Amendment and
the "Freedom of the Press" should only apply to hand presses
and hand written letters and not to anything that uses computers or electronics.
I also pointed out that the musket of the
time was their assault weapon and that the large barrel and smaller ball
was designed to maximize their rate of fire. That in fact a high rate
of fire was the main goal of musket and the British tried to use a breach
loading black powder gun with a much higher rate of fire than the musket
and it was very successful when it was used however the leader of the
unit, who was the biggest proponent of the gun, was killed in battle and
after the battle the unit was broken up and the guns turned back in and
never used again. If the Americans or British could have made a machine
gun using the technology that they had they would have made them and used
them.
Pete's main points when I talked to him
was the war and the environment and that he was looking at the whole picture
and not just our gun/hunting/fishing rights. I said that the points that
he made in the letter only dealt with our hunting/fishing rights and the
2nd Amendment. He said he supports the 2nd Amendment as long as the gun
are the ones that the government approves. He said the he would rather
have Kerry as President and fight the anti-gun groups and anti-hunting
groups rather than vote for Bush and not have to worry about our ability
to hunt or our 2nd Amendment rights and fight with the Bush administration
to improve their environmental record.
The question is who will the pro-gun/hunting/fishing
groups have more influence with?
Please try to write their local newspapers when you see letters like this.
Costume gets kid cuffed, Pine Bush senior had replica of Civil War musket
for re-enactmentUPDATE: Things are not as clear cut as they seem. I appears that the rule is that all blanks are suppose to be turned in at the end of the event and that is hard to do if you leave early. Those and other problems aside, it looks like the kid was arrested improperly because he did not have a gun and that is a requirement if they want to arrest you for having a gun on school grounds. This is the type of arrest that you can bring a law suit for because they could have taken him back to the station and looked up the law and looked at the rifle to find out if it was a real gun or a blank shooting replica.
Pine Bush – Last weekend, Joshua
Phelps was fighting Confederate soldiers with a Civil War-era musket in
his arms, re-enacting the epic 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville.
When the Pine Bush High School senior was
done charging around the grassy fields behind Montgomery's Brick House
Museum, he tossed his musket, a bayonet and Union soldier's blue uniform
in his car and forgot about it.
Yesterday, a security guard at the high
school saw the butt of the musket. He called the cops. The discovery by
the guard sparked a chain of events that got the B-average student arrested,
suspended from school for five days and facing weapons charges. He could
be expelled from school and even jailed.
Phelps, 17, was sitting in study hall when
the security guard told him to come to Assistant Principal Aaron Hopmayer's
office. When he got there he was told that a rifle had been spotted in
his car. He wasn't concerned. He knew they would understand. "I actually
thought it was kind of stupid, at first, when I heard it was about the
musket," Joshua said. "I didn't think I'd get arrested over
it."
He went with them to the parking lot and
let them search his car. They pulled the musket from his back seat along
with a uniform and Civil War-era accessories. Minutes later, he was arrested
by Town of Crawford police, handcuffed, and charged with fourth-degree
criminal possession, a misdemeanor. The cops confiscated the gun. His
mother, Valerie Michaels, is outraged. "They arrested my son for
having a Civil War costume," she said yesterday. "The school
district has blown this incident totally out of proportion. It's ludicrous."
The musket was part of the teenager's Civil War-era costume, which included
his uniform – shoes, leather belt, jacket, hat, powder keg and a
leather cartridge box.
Over the weekend, Phelps participated in
the re-enactment of the May 1863 battle of Chancellorsville at the Brick
House Museum, an annual event hosted by the 124th New York State Volunteers,
the famed "Orange Blossoms." The re-enactors model themselves
after the original regiment, which was mustered into action from Orange
County in the summer of 1862. The unit would take part in the battles
of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg the following year – key conflicts
in the war.
Michaels said she understands how school
officials would be concerned, in the post-Columbine era, after discovering
the musket on school grounds. But she said once they learned the musket
was a replica, they should have given him a break. "I don't understand
why the school wants to push this so far," she said. "There
are bigger problems at that high school than this. It just doesn't make
any sense."
Town of Crawford police Chief Daniel McCann
disagreed. Replica or not, he said, the musket could have been used to
fire a projectile, such as a small rock. He said officers found 14 to
15 rolled cartridges with black powder, and a bayonet. "I know this
might appear to be a minor thing, but it's not," McCann said. "The
musket was found in his car on the high school grounds and could have
been used."
Pine Bush Superintendent RoseMarie Stark
called yesterday's incident a "student discipline matter" and
declined comment.
School officials say bloody massacres like the April 20, 1999, one at
Columbine High School, have prompted state and federal governments to
enact laws about weapons in schools.
Many states have a zero-tolerance stance,
meaning a fake musket that fires blanks carries the same penalty as a
loaded AK-47 assault rifle. In New York, each case must take into account
the weapon, the circumstances and the student's history. "There is
a concern among school districts, even with replicas or fake guns,"
said David Ernst, a spokesman for the state School Boards Association.
In Pine Bush, the high school had recruited
students to become involved in the Civil War re-enactors club. Phelps,
who joined the Civil War Club a few months ago, said he was looking to
get more involved in extra-curricular activities, hoping it would boost
his standing on college applications. He found an ad for the club in the
school district's annual catalog. After joining, the Orange Blossoms,
who are affiliated with the club, gave him a uniform, the replica musket
that shoots blanks, a powder keg and a Union soldier's uniform.
"If they [the school district] were
really so afraid that a replica musket could be used to shoot someone,
then why are they giving them out to 17-year-olds?" Michaels asked.
OCFSC Dinner a big successOrange County Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs, Inc. held it's annual dinner at Kohl's Highland House in Middletown and it was a great success. All of the clubs in Orange County were represented and many of the local politicians who are seeking office showed up this year. We had many bucket raffles and two special BONUS Prize tables. We also had two drawings for the 'You win, You pick the gun you win from the "Wall of Guns"' with the third drawing a 50/50 for $300. The biggest fund raiser succeeded in rising over $1,100 to fund a special program dedicated to the memory of Rudy Vallet.
 The two winners of the "Wall of Guns" had many good guns to choose from. Shotguns, bolt action 30-06, lever action in several calibers and even a black powder made choosing hard.  I ended up winning the last drawing of the Dinner |
  The two Bonus Tables had the best prizes including two guns. |
 The Bucket Raffle had something for everyone. These are just a few people who won |
 Someone is going to be in the "dog house" |
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Many political people showed up to show their support. These are the Judges who are seeking election in November.
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RUDY VALLET passed away on 10/2/04
Rudy Vallet from Goshen, lost his courageous
battle with leukemia and died Saturday, October 2, 2004 at New York Presbyterian
Medical Center. He was 63.
Few people in Orange County have ever worked
as hard, have spent as much time with as many clubs and groups as Rudy
did in protecting all aspects of our lands and our rights as Rudy did.
Rudy held many positions in many clubs and groups in Orange 
County
and attended many meetings across the state representing Orange County.
Rudy was also very active in SPARC,
Stewart Park and Reserve Coalition, a group who has led the fight to preserve
the Buffer Lands west of Durry Lane next to Stewart Airport.
Rudy was awarded the "Sportsman of the Year" award from the
Orange County Federation of
Sportsmen's Clubs, Inc. in 2002. The award recognized the years of
hard work that he had spent as an officer in the club and representing
the club at many functions and meetings. As the Federations current Secretary,
a position that he held for many years, Rudy spent many hours preparing
the monthly meeting minutes, writing letters, and representing the Federation.
Rudy was very active in the local community,
serving on the Goshen Village Planning Board, and in a myriad of environmental
organizations. They inlcude: Orange County Federation of Sportsmen's Club,
The County Seat Conservation Club of Goshen, The Stewart Park and Reserve
Coalition, the Sterling Forest Partnership, the Quassaick Creek Project,
the Edgar Mearns Bird Club, Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, the Nature
Conservancy, Southern Catskill Anglers and the Goshen Heritage Coalition.
He was also Orange county sportman's delegate to the seven-county Region-3
Fish and Wildlife Management Board.
In lieu of flowers, relatives request that
contributions be made in Rudy's honor to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society,
Westchester/Hudson Valley Chapter, 1311 Mamaroneck Ave., Suite 310, White
Plains, NY 10605.
Soft-spoken land advocate will be missed
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George Rogero, OCShooters.com Webmaster, receives award from SCOPE
For my work on OCShooters.com I was award the Frank Martino Leadership Award by SCOPE. I gave a short acceptance speech thanking my wife and urging others to start a similar web site for their own counties. It is important that if someone goes to Google to search for hunting, fishing, shooting sports, clubs, laws, stores, events and other outdoor related activities that they be able to find something that gives them local information.
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Mike Kubow, Orange County Scope Chapter Chair with Wayne. |
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Wayne LaPierre
gave a short interview to local Ch7. The questions were framed like,
"Just how unsafe does the NRA think that guns should be stored
so that kids can be hurt.?" |
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 Pete Jeremich , SCOPE's 1st VP and his lovely and charming date. Pete is also the owner of Serb-Art who host SCOPE's website and OCShooters.com |
Sandy Froman with Scholarship award winner. | |||||||||||||
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| Some of the many prizes | ||||||||||||||
SCOPE INC. (Shooter's Committee On Political
Education) held it's annual banquet on September 17 with the theme of
honoring our military personnel who served to keep America Free. County
Legislator, Chuck Swanick and Boston Town Clerk, David Shenk attended,
Swanick in his dress uniform and Shenk in his BDU's. Banquet Chairman,
Mary Jo Picone, made special mention of those in the active reserve and
the veterans who served on active duty. They received the proper recognition
for the sacrifices they made in the defense and protection of our country.
County Legislator, Timothy Wroblewski received the Legislator of the Year
Award for his successful effort moving the resolution in the County Legislature
opposing the Pataki proposal to make pistol permits renewable and charging
outrageous fees in the process, creating a de facto confiscation by taxation.
The crowd of almost 300 was treated to three outstanding speakers.
NRA Executive Vice President Wayne La Pierre
spoke to the theme of the banquet. He discussed the need to be vigilant
and particularly to beware of the plans of the United Nations to disarm
the citizens of all the countries. The NRA is an NGO, (Non Governmental
Organization) and opposes all plans to write a treaty which would give
the UN control over small arms worldwide. Since a treaty can supercede
the Constitution, that would make our Second Amendment moot. He promised
that not only would NRA oppose such a treaty, but would use all its power
and influence to prevent it from being passed. He promised that NRA would
always be the leader in protecting our Constitutional freedoms and would
never abandon the fight to prevent erosion of our Bill of Rights.
The second speaker, Harold Volker, who
was the co-sponsor of the Volker-McClure Firearms Owner Protection Act,
described the tough and lengthy process to pass legislation that regained
some of the rights of gun owners that were destroyed by the 1968 Gun Control
Act. His bill allows hunters and target shooters to transport their firearms
interstate so they can go hunting or compete in competitions. It also
eliminated some of the very onerous restrictions regarding the purchase
of guns and ammunition. His description of the roadblocks the chairman
of the Judiciary Committee placed in his way gave the audience an insight
into the power a chairman wields in Congress. He finally had to do an
"end around" and initiate a discharge petition which meant a
majority of the Congressmen had to sign the petition to get the bill on
the floor to be debated. It worked and he won. It would seem that in the
Congress, procedure takes precedent over principles and it takes dedicated
representatives, in many cases, to provide the pathway to justice and
fairness.
Sandra Froman, First Vice-President of
NRA, was the final speaker and reminded the audience that the NRA is the
oldest CIVIL RIGHTS organization in America. She spoke of the origin of
NRA which was founded shortly after the Civil War to teach marksmanship
skills to civilians so that they would be much better prepared in time
of war or other conflict. She defined the legal definition of the organized
and unorganized militia. The most notable demonstration of the "unorganized
militia" was the example of the passengers flying on 9/11 who prevented
the terrorist's plan of crashing the plane into the Capitol. These passengers
actually became the unorganized militia as they stopped the terrorists.
Their brave actions caused the plane to crash in Pennsylvania and saved
Washington, DC. The unorganized militia was comprised of the heroes who
rose to the occasion and did their duty to protect America. They didn't
wear uniforms, but they displayed the courage to fight for freedom and
they defined the concept of the militia for all Americans to follow.
All speakers received a standing ovation
by a grateful audience. Nobody left the banquet without understanding
that the NRA and SCOPE are synonymous with the definition of Freedom.
-30- Comments to Mr. Schroeder can be made to: The Front Page, 2703 South
Park Ave., Lackawanna, NY 14218
NATIONAL
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FAIRFAX, VA -- The National Rifle Association`s Political Victory Fund
(NRA-PVF) has endorsed George W. Bush for President of the United States.
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