Deer Hunting in a Rural Community

Living in a rural community that has many sections of woods, corn fields, and deer make it is easy to see why deer hunting is important to many of our students and our community. It also underscores why we have traditionally had no school on opening day. I know that this is a safety issue in our district. With so many hunters and guns out, it is not a good idea to have kids waiting on a country road for a bus to pick them up. It is also an attendance issue because we have so many students who would miss school to go out opening day. Some students and teachers don't care about hunting but love having a day off in the fall. I know people who use this time to "hunt for sales". Actually, my wife, Kristi, and I have traditionally taken the day to kick off our Christmas shopping. This year we didn't have this extra day off because opening day fell on a Saturday. I suppose some feel like they were robbed of a day. I am not a huge outdoors man, but I have hunted. I went as a high school student, but due to many factors, I really got out of it for a long time. I went out again last year for the first time in about 18 years. I didn't get anything. But, this year I went out opening day and did have some success. To my surprise, I got an 8-point buck. I know that some of you may not like this kind of thing, but I truly care about deer starvation and vehicle/motorist safety when it comes to the deer population. We will process the deer and use as much as we can, just like the old days. I actually was able to get a doe in addition to the buck so we will have a good supply of meat. I hope that those of you who hunt were successful. I always feel a little sense of guilt about shooting the deer because they are beautiful animals, but I also know from the DNR that overpopulation hurts the deer as well.