Dear Editor:

I am a native born West Virginian and most of the time very, very proud of that heritage.
But what makes me ashamed is to see local hunters hunting with dogs. Now I know most of them could give me what they believe to be sound reasons for doing so, but I can tell you a true hunter, by my definition, would track and hunt his prey on his own or as a team of men. In my opinion, hunting with dogs is not hunting—it does not require stealth and cunning. I hunted once, without dogs, and actually got a deer, albeit one that had been injured by someone else and was suffering as a result of it.

But I really look to my father as the ideal hunter—he hunted on his own, tracking his prey throughout the woods in the U.S. and in the forests of Germany. Being part Shawnee Indian probably accounted for his soft walk and keen eyesight but I have to tell you he killed his prey with one shot and they didn’t suffer or run in fear of their lives. They scarcely knew what hit them—it was humane.

I know bear are difficult to get without dogs but as least the hunter could say he had done it on his own. I believe they call that pride of ownership. How much satisfaction does one get from running a bear down with dogs and shooting it in a tree?  It is a lot like going to the zoo and shooting one in a cage, you have a captive audience, so to speak. I am sure this letter will raise a lot of ire, but I just had to voice my thoughts. Just for an instant, I wish the hunter could feel the extreme fear of his prey and know what it must be like. I hope you hunters with dogs make economic use of what you kill—I would hate to think you did it just for sport.


Karen L. Bowers
Buckeye

Letter to the Editor,

Isn't it funny that people think it is so cute when an advertisement comes on TV with dogs barking Jingle Bells? Isn't amazing that bear hunters say it isn't the kill, but the sound of the chase that gets them all into the hunt? I find that very interesting.  

Yet, in a community in which there are dog lovers and bear hunters, some still want to complain about a few people’s dogs barking. I find that very alarming and very upsetting. Now in fact, it is  my dogs that people are complaining about. Everyone's dogs bark in the town of Durbin. Barking is a way of communication. One cannot stop a dog from barking, it is their nature. Yet, no one wants to complain about others’ dogs who bark in this community, just mine.  

If the youngsters and older people of the town would quit using the alley behind my house to ride four-wheelers and cut through for whatever reason, the dogs on top would not bark. If people would not be walking through town at 2 a.m., they wouldn't bark. The dog that is on a leash in front of our house is legal. According to town ordinance, all dogs must be on leashes or fenced in. In fact, all of my dogs are legal, according to the town ordinance. If you are on my property in front of my house and the dog is barking, it is for a reason. You are not supposed to be there and he is letting you know and us know that you are there.

God created all creatures, big and small, prior to creating man. This means dogs were created first. They have every right to bark, in my opinion. It just seems so funny that people get all bent out of shape, yet they do not follow the town ordinance of leashes or any other law for that matter.   

I don't go around putting my hand out to another dog. One never knows if it is safe or not. If my dogs concern you so much, do not attempt to come near our property or our house.    If you are serving papers, call ahead or give it to my husband at work, or me at work, for that matter. Walk on the other side of the street. Walk around another way. I know that animals can slip a collar or jump or dig out of a fence. It is animal nature.  

If you want peace and quiet and no interruptions in your daily routine, stay home, put in ear plugs or better yet, move to the country. When a town or a group of people think they can run people down because of their choice of pets, doesn't that seem like a dictatorship? Now I know for a fact that the mayor has a dog or two, as well as other community people. If my dogs must go then theirs do, too. There have been times when my dogs haven't been barking, but over in the field a few bear dogs start howling and then mine start. Has no one here ever seen the movie 101 Dalmatians?  Those dogs used the barking chain to find the puppies. Even Disney recognized that, so should you.

So my wish is that everyone has a merry little Christmas and when my dogs learn to bark Jingle Bells, I am sure the whole community will hear it. 

Sincerely,
Francine Lambert
Durbin

Dear Editor:

I would like to take time to clarify some things about the Durbin Library. While I was organizing the first Durbin School Reunion, Donald Peck approached me and inquired if I could get help to refurbish the baseball diamond at Widney Park.

I looked into it and contacted Lauren Bennett at Parks and Recreation and was informed the upper end needed volunteers on the Parks and Rec Board. I put my name in the hat and was appointed at the next meeting.

The P&R board voted to provide all supplies and bases for the baseball diamond, but would not pay for manual labor. A decision was also made at that meeting that admission had to be free, but donations would be divided between Durbin Library and Parks and Recreation for upkeep of the field. It was also agreed that different organizations could set up concessions at the games.

I asked Donald Peck to help me organize the labor to get the job done. I agreed to team up with Allen Johnson, director of  the Pocahontas County Free Libraries, to make up donation forms to pass out at the reunion to enable people to donate to the library. I contacted the ladies who own the old school and its grounds to donate the bricks from the school to the library. This was accomplished. What will they do with them now?

Some people donated money and the balance of the money from the school reunion was donated to the library by check.

I had a meeting notice published to encourage people to come to help with the baseball diamond. No one showed up at the meeting and Donald Peck reported to me that no one wanted to work on it.

I talked with Allen Johnson about drawing up a petition to request help from our state and county government representatives. He called me back to say I could not do the petition because someone on the library board would not approve of it.

Bill Proudfoot told me he felt it would have been a way for he and his fellow county representatives to know what the people wanted and needed. Since I could not get anyone to work for the library or the baseball diamond, I felt I was wasting my time going to meetings with the Parks and Recreation Board, so I resigned July 14.

JoAnn Gilardi
Bartow