subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Mon, Nov 09 2009 

Published: February 13, 2008 10:29 pm    print this story  

Guills backs ‘three R’s,’ not hunting classes

Mannix Porterfield
Register-Herald Reporter

CHARLESTON — Senators have a long weekend to mull over Majority Whip Billy Wayne Bailey’s idea of giving students the option of taking a 10-hour hunting class in public schools.

One of them, Sen. Jesse Guills, R-Greenbrier, is already dead set against the idea, saying the curriculum should stick to the traditional core subjects.

Before the bill exited the Senate Finance Committee, he voted against Bailey’s proposal, largely because it imposes an unfunded mandate on local school systems. A full Senate vote should come Monday.

A fiscal note attached to the measure contained the round figure of $75,000.

Yet, there was no explanation of how that money would be spent, Guills pointed out Wednesday. Bailey’s bill says every school with grades 9 through 12 must offer the two-week course.

“It’s supposed to be volunteer training, which was another issue for me,” the Lewisburg attorney said.

“Who’s going to do this training? And what certification or guarantee do you have as to who is going to come in and conduct it?”

Bailey, D-Wyoming, and Sen. Shirley Love, D-Fayette, for years have sought to install a firearms safety class in schools, but the idea never caught on until this year when they altered the bill to provide an optional hunting class.

“I’m getting a tremendous response from the people outside the state,” Bailey said recently.

News outlets from across the nation and in Paris have flooded him for interviews, and lawmakers in several states have asked for input from Bailey, preparatory, it appears, to sponsoring similar legislation.

But Guills says he is put off by the idea of firearms in school, even if they are merely there as a training exercise. Bailey has assured any would-be critics that no live ammo would be involved.

“We traditionally talk about gun-free schools,” Guills said.

“It’s somehow ingrained in me not to be right to be doing that in a school system, even though it’s a safety factor. I wasn’t comfortable with it. That’s why I voted against it.”

Guills said he respects the recreational aspect of hunting as a pursuit “that is something young people do and carry through up until the later stages of their life.”

“But I’m more of a fundamentalist in the belief that we need to be dealing with arithmetic, science and English,” the senator added.

— E-mail:

mannix@register-herald.com

print this story  



autoconx

Premier Guide
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide

Find a job! Find a Home! Find a car!

Premium Jobs

NURSING FACULTY
Kanawha VALLEY COMMUNITY & TECHNICAL COLLEGE Cole Complex Institute, WV 25112-1000 is seeking applicants for the positio...>MORE

LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE - MONTGOMERY GENERAL ELDERLY CARE
MONTGOMERY GENERAL ELDERLY CARE is accepting applications / resumes for Licensed Practical Nurses. Qualified candidates ...>MORE

VARIOUS COAL MINING POSITIONS - SPEED MINING
SPEED Mining, LLC. A great opportunity for underground miners. Speed Mining, LLC, an operating affiliate of Patriot Coal...>MORE

PHYSICAL THERAPIST
Busy outpatient clinic looking for a Physical Therapist. Great benefits, no weekends. Call 304-645-2821....>MORE

ROUTE SALES REPRESENTATIVE
JOIN A WINNING TEAM Alsco is a 118 year old Global Uniform & Linen Rental Company. We are looking for a Route Sales Repr...>MORE

EMT APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM
Jan-Care Ambulance Service is currently accepting applications for our Emergency Medical Technician Academy and Field Ap...>MORE

SURFACE MINE ENGINEER
A coal company in southern West Virginia is seeking a Surface Mine Engineer. Summary: Reporting to the Chief Engineer an...>MORE

NURSE PRACTITIONER - GREENBRIER CO.
Nurse Practitioner for busy medical office in western Greenbrier County. Must be able to work evenings and weekends. Ful...>MORE

LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSES
Make a difference in the life of a veteran. Are you interested in working in a state-of-the-art, one-of-a-kind organizat...>MORE

JOB FAIR - ELK RUN
Job FAIR. Massey Energy is accepting experienced underground applicants. Our expanding operations are located in Rale...>MORE

See all ads

Premium Jobs

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index