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This year hunting has started off as an experience and a lesson all in one.

I am hunting with my 12-year-old daughter, taking advantage of the Oregon Mentor Youth Program that allows a child 9 to 12 years old to hunt with a licensed adult and get some hands-on experience, prepping her for a hunter safety course later on (for those who decide they like hunting).

As most of you know, hunting blacktail deer here locally is mostly being in the right place at the right time and a game of "Now You See Me, Now You Don't." That's exactly what we got. Not being able to hunt until I was off work on Saturday gave us a late start, so our season actually started off Sunday morning.

The true test of a hunter is how well they take to the elements and Sunday was a drencher. We started off on a walk along a stand of timber next to a clearcut behind an open gate, courtesy of Cascade Timber Consultants. We started our hunt along a gravel road that I think was created to test my patience because the rocks were as loud as a locomotive in a quiet neighborhood.

We definitely sounded as if we didn't belong there but. strangely enough, when we took a knee 15 minutes into our hunt for a quick call on a buck call I got from Dan Dees and, I kid you not, a buck showed up almost instantly. It was like playing hot potato as I practically threw the rifle into my daughter's hands, but the 3x3 buck was quick to escape.

That, though, was just enough to get my daughter's blood flowing and her senses numb to the chilling rain that continued to fall the rest of the day. We forged along the knell of trees and, after about an hour-and-a-half walk and stalk, we had seen about four more deer � does, though.

We were completely soaked by the time we made it back to the truck, where we made a quick drive home with the heater on flame thrower. Both our lips were blue as we made it inside and got a fire started and got some dry clothes. Refitted, we got ready to go out again.

It's nice to see her so eager and willing to go out and beat the brush with Dad. There's only a few real experiences that a father and daughter get to experience that really have a lifelong impact on us both and spending time chasing antlers through the woods rates up there as one of the top.

Kids are the funniest during hunting season. They don't quite understand how it all works.

My 4- and 6-year-old sons were with me this week when we saw a 6x6 bull elk. They were cheering me on like the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders to "blast that sucker!" "It's a 6x6 BULL ELK!" "Daddy, shoot it!" "It's just standing there. It wants to die!" my oldest son says.

I then explain that it's buck season.

"He has to wait three weeks before he can jump into our freezer."

There are definitely some animals out there. Good luck to all of you hunters of all ages and congrats to those of you who have filled your tags �?like that mighty hunter, Taylor Thorpe, who bagged a nice buck, making a memory that she and her father will share for a lifetime.

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On a less happy note (for some), with hunting season in full swing, the Oregon State Police (OSP) Fish and Wildlife Division is reminding hunters that the deer you try to shoot may not be what you think it is as the Wildlife Enforcement Decoy will be used during the 2007 fall big game seasons in an effort to bust poachers.

According to the OSP, the Wildlife Enforcement Decoy will be utilized this fall in select wildlife management units statewide to address tag compliance, unlawful take and prohibited harvest methods, along with other unlawful hunting issues where deemed appropriate due to recent and/or historical wildlife complaint locations.

"The Wildlife Enforcement Decoy Program has been used in Oregon since 1991 and helps the OSP Fish and Wildlife Division in its mission to assure compliance with laws that protect and enhance the long-term health and equitable utilization of Oregon's fish and wildlife resources," said OSP Lieutenant Dave Cleary.

The benefit of this program is that it allows for the violator, the animal, and the enforcement officer to be in the same area at the same time in a controlled environment. The use of a decoy prevents the loss to actual wildlife to violators. The contact with the violator then can be controlled with a focus on increasing both violator and officer safety.

In 2005 and 2006, the Wildlife Enforcement Decoy was used 499 times, with roughly half of those operations occurring at night. A total of 2,951 vehicles drove by the decoy and 1,343 persons observed the decoy. Those contacts resulted in 200 incidents wherein there was interaction between the violator and the wildlife decoy, resulting in 317 citations and arrests.

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Also on a serious note, hunters are reminded to have harvested deer or elk checked for Chronic Wasting Disease and to follow regulations that prohibit the import of any deer, elk or moose parts containing central nervous system tissue into Oregon from states or Canadian provinces with CWD.

CWD is an untreatable neurological disease that is always fatal to deer, elk and moose. Oregon is fortunate to be a CWD-free state today as no state or province that has detected CWD in its free-ranging wildlife has been able to eradicate it.

During rifle deer season or the first bull elk season in late October, hunters can visit one of several eastside check stations where ODFW staff and student volunteers from Oregon State University and Washington State University will be available to take samples. Check stations are generally open from dawn until dusk; look for highway signs indicating stations are open.

Hunters traveling to other states are also reminded that it is illegal to bring deer, elk or moose parts containing central nervous system tissue into Oregon from any state or province with a documented case of the disease (Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, New Mexico, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, West Virginia and Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada).

Last year, OSP cited several hunters for failing to remove brain tissue before bringing their deer or elk back into Oregon. In one instance, hunters from Colorado had the antlers of their large bull elk seized because they had failed to remove brain matter and tissue on the skull cap.

The reason for the concern is evidence that prions, the agents that cause CWD, last a long time in the environment. Some hunters dispose of heads or spinal columns on the landscape where other wildlife could encounter the prions and contract the disease.

To see a demonstration of how to properly bone out an animal and remove central nervous system tissue, visit

No evidence suggests that Chronic Wasting Disease can be transmitted to people. Nevertheless, hunters should always take simple precautions to protect themselves from exposure to wildlife diseases. Hunters should not harvest animals that appear sick; wear rubber or latex gloves when field dressing an animal; trim all meat to remove fat and lymph gland tissue; and only consume meat that has been thoroughly cooked to at least 165 degrees.

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Daily passage numbers for summer steelhead moving through the Willamette Falls fishway were continuing in the low single digits over the past week. The summer-run steelhead counted through Sept. 22 totaled 13,869. Most of the fish have moved to the middle and upper reaches of the tributaries, though there are some traveling through the lower stretches. Recycling of steelhead from the traps at Foster and Minto, combined with first-run fish, means there are good numbers of fish in the rivers.

Flow out of Foster Dam on the South Santiam will be held constant until fall rains start. Water conditions in the mainstem Willamette and in both forks of the Santiam are good, but pressure remains relatively light.

ODFW stocked Foster reservoir with 5,000 legal-sized rainbow trout two weeks ago.

Quartzville Creek above Green Peter are still holding good numbers of stocked trout. Baits, flies or small spinners work well.

Some trout are still available in Green Peter Reservoir. Anglers will find better success fishing at depths 25 feet or greater. Musicians daydreaming about a major-label contract might want to take a lesson from Josh Ritter.When it comes time to make a CD, do it your way. Then at least one person is guaranteed to be happy.

The 32-year-old Idaho native, who plays the Somerville Theatre Thursday and Friday, has an uncanny ability to land on his feet. After a self-released debut CD and two more for folk-focused Massachusetts label Signature Sounds (including 2003's "Hello Starling," which hit No. 2 in Ireland), V2 Records signed Ritter, reissued his catalog and released "The Animal Years" in spring 2006.

And just as Ritter's career started gaining momentum, V2 went down the tubes.

"I saw it coming," Ritter said during a late lunch at a Porter Square Japanese noodle bar located nearby the Cambridge apartment the singer/songwriter lived in for several years after graduating from Oberlin College in 1999. "I got the news V2 went bankrupt the day I performed on 'Letterman.' The label got sold to a holding company that now owns its back catalog.I managed to retain the rights to my work, but another week and my career might have gotten auctioned off. Once that happens you completely lose control of your recordings."

Another folkie on rock's fringe might have licked his wounds and put out an indie CD. Not Ritter. He signed with an even bigger label, Sony/BMG, and released "The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter." It's his most acclaimed CD yet and an edgy departure from the masculine Springsteen-cum-Dylan folk his fans had come to expect.

"I didn't think about it stylistically," Ritter said, "but in general I feel like I have an agreement with my audience to do whatever it is I'm going to do and that I'll work really hard at it. You can draw a circle around yourself and only dance inside of it, but limitations are dangerous. I made my new CD how I wanted, with whoever I wanted, and I paid for it myself. The deal with Sony came after it was finished.

"The great thing about record companies now is that it's become so much more about the artists' vision," Ritter said. "With the increase in self-released music, the companies need to be more flexible. If you're in a situation where someone's trying to change you, it isn't meant to be. This is supposed to be about what resonates with listeners. If that gets tampered with, people feel the difference. Plus, there's nothing very rock 'n' roll about doing what the company wants. You're supposed to go in, grab the cash and break all the rules, not be boring and predictable."

Ritter's admirable sense of confidence involves keeping a healthy perspective on the recording process.

"Making the new CD took about three weeks," he said, "which is perfect. Fleetwood Mac may have taken a few years to record 'Tusk,' but they had a lot of money and a lot of coke. This is a completely different era. My gut tells me that if I can't get my ideas across in three weeks, then I'm not going to be able to do it in six months or a year either. You have to remember it's just a record. There'll be others."
WINFIELD - Allegations of dire conditions at the Putnam County animal shelter that circulated on the Internet simply were not true, county commissioners state in a response to e-mails from across the nation.
"Rest assured that we have investigated the matter concerning your complaint and have determined that the anonymous allegations that were circulated are recklessly untrue and unsubstantiated by the facts," states the response approved Tuesday by commissioners.

Electronic mail from as far as California claimed an "extraordinary" number of animals had been killed or were ill in a poorly maintained shelter and urged the commission to fire director Terry Williams.

Rather, Williams was appointed to the position because of "her compassion and desire to help animals" as well as her experience as a veterinarian assistant, the response states.

"Only a person who truly loves animals and cares about them would subject themselves to being the target of malicious, false allegations for a relatively low salary," it also states.

In a late August evening meeting, commissioners addressed similar complaints with local residents.

Also Tuesday, commissioners agreed to sign a resolution and letters supporting the Putnam County Development Authority efforts, so far unsuccessful, in persuading Verizon or Comcast to provide high-speed Internet access for the Putnam Business Park in Fraziers Bottom.

About 70 percent of the 62 acres in the first phase of the business park was sold to four businesses in a period before Internet service was in demand.

"It's a piece of infrastructure that at the time didn't exist," development authority director Gary Walton said.

Now it's required to successfully market remaining parcels in the completed section and for the roughly 70 acres being developed, he said.

In other business, commissioners:


Accepted the second low bid for a box ambulance to replace an aged vehicle with more than 220,000 miles, currently stationed in Hurricane. Because a Georgia company that submitted the $119,000 low bid has not acquired required certification, the commission approved the $123,900 bid submitted by J&J Emergency Vehicles of Morgantown. The third bid from a Pennsylvania company came in at almost $142,000
Appointed Tiffany Noffsinger of Red House Ridge as fiduciary deputy pending pre-employment screenings. The vote followed an executive session interview with Noffsinger, a Marshall University graduate currently working for Cabell County. She will fill a position left vacant by serious illness.

Signed a contract with Thomas Lyvers of Scott Depot to provide out-patient substance abuse therapy for offenders in county home confinement, day reporting and probation programs. Outpatient participation generally is required before placement at an in-patient facilities but many participants are unable to travel to out-of-county therapists, day reporting director Jamey Hunt said. a matter of time before an enterprising New Zealand filmmaker made a horror movie about sheep. It's surprising it's taken this long for one to reach the big screen, and more surprising still, given the inherent low horror factor of lamb (outside of a late-night kebab), that Black Sheep proves to be a visceral chiller as well as a smart black comedy.

First time writer-director Jonathan King locates the action on a sheep farm in the lush green Wairarapa region of NZ's north island, and there sets up a tempestuous Cain and Abel relationship between the late owner's sons Nathan and Angus. As the film opens, the younger, unfortunately sheep-phobic Nathan returns home from Wellington to sell his share of the farm to his older, sheep-shagging brother Angus, whose ruthless business streak has lead to him secretly genetically modifying his livestock. When a pair of new age animal activists break into the farm and steal some genetic waste it's not long before everyone's being terrorised by herds of flesh-eating ovines and monstrous mutant sheep-human hybrids.

King piles on the blood and guts, and delivers some genuinely creepy evil sheep courtesy of world class New Zealand special effects house WETA (of The Lord of the Rings fame). But he underscores the gore with a fine line in subversive humour, taking shots at everything from modern farming practices to animal activism. And there's a great series of jokes about NZ's meaty export, including a priceless gag involving mint sauce.