Drivers strive to advance

October 12, 2017

Two of the three top NASCAR series were back home to race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Xfinity series raced on Saturday night after rain forced a five-hour delay on the start of the Drive for the Cure 300. Hurricane Nate played havoc with the weather in the south most of the weekend. In stage one, Daniel Suarez paced the field and grabbed the win. In stage two, Erik Jones took the victory. In the final laps, Alex Bowman, who was making his first start in several months, showed that he still could get it done. He won the race over Sam Hornish Jr. Ryan Blaney finished third. ...

Hunting season off to a slow start

October 7, 2017

Last Saturday, I went squirrel hunting for the first time this fall. When I got back home, everyone started asking, “How did you do?” Well, there isn’t much to report. The woods where I hunted were practically dead. I got into the woods at daybreak. At about 8:45 am, I saw a gray squirrel on the ground that was about 40 yards away in the National Forest. It blended right in with the leaves, shadows and two small logs that it was between. When it stood up on its hind legs, I decided to go for it. I put the bead of my 12-gauge slide action shotgun on its head and let drive. This ...

Playoffs heating up

October 5, 2017

This week’s column begins with special prayers and thoughts to those affected by the evil attack that was carried out last weekend in Las Vegas. Everyone I’ve talked to this week has the same question — why? The only answer I have is that it was just pure evil at work in the heart of an individual who decided to just lash out at innocent people, and there was very little that anyone could have done to stop this mad man once his plan was put into motion. It’s amazing to me that even more people were not murdered as the hundreds of bullets rained down on that helpless crowd. ...

Virus proving deadly among deer herd

September 30, 2017

Ruth and I attended the September Mountaineer Chapter Izaak Walton League dinner/meeting this past Tuesday. I was able to ask a few sportsmen and women if they have been out squirrel hunting yet. They all gave me just about the same answer: “It’s just too hot.” These unseasonably warm temperatures are discouraging. However, this weekend the temperature is supposed to cool down. A friend and I are talking about going squirrel hunting together this weekend. Officials for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources have reported that deer have been found in eight counties ...

NASCAR playoffs roar again

September 28, 2017

Fall is starting out kind of hot. It has made for some beautiful race evenings. All the events that run this time of the year in our region have had large car counts and great races. It seems it’s always a struggle to get official results from some of these tracks. I will keep trying to report the results as I get them in. Elkins Raceway Awards Banquet will be held Nov. 11. Please contact the raceway for tickets. There will be no tickets sold at the door. NASCAR action was in New Hampshire and Kentucky this weekend as the playoffs begin in all three top series. The Camping ...

Too warm for hunting

September 23, 2017

The squirrel season has been in for two weeks, and I have only talked with one hunter who has taken any squirrels. Most people who do go squirrel hunting agree with me that it is just too warm to really enjoy yourself in the woods. Frankly,when the weather is this warm, I would rather be hunting groundhogs in a large open field or meadow in the early evening until dark with a centerfire rifle. I still enjoy taking long shots (200 yards or more) at these varmint pests. The Mountain State Forest Festival is just around the corner. During that weekend, I will most likely be working the ...