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 ...

Push for playoffs is upon us

September 21, 2017

This week’s NASCAR action saw all three top series travel to the Windy City, Chicago, illinois, and the Chicagoland Speedway. This 1 1/2-mile track is one of the more challenging because it has a lot of lower banking in the turns and handling plays a large role in a successful race. On Friday evening the Camping World Truck series ran their final race of the regular season, TheHouse.com 225, and set the eight-truck field to battle it out to the Championship four at the end of the knock-out playoffs. Ryan Truex showed the way early and had a very strong truck, grabbing the first ...

Squirrel season is upon us

September 16, 2017

The statewide squirrel season opened this past Saturday. I have only talked to two hunters who have been in the woods for this year. The first hunter told me that where he took his grandkids, there was plenty of hickory nuts, beech nuts and acorns, but no squirrels. They hunted all morning and did not see any bushy-tails. The other hunter was able to get two gray squirrels with a .22 rimfire rifle in Barbour County. This is good, considering that squirrels are difficult to locate when the leaves are this heavy this time of the year. In two weeks, on Sept. 30, the black bear, ...