Backlashes

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	Bear-baiting bill full of shortcomings May 01 at 7:00 am Responding to constituents’ requests is a good idea for politicians. It shows attention and compassion and pays dividends at the ballot box.

	Will Republicans end pay-to-play format? April 01 at 7:00 am The “Government Reorganization and Efficiency Act,” aka Senate Bill 10 — part of which would change appointments of N.C. Wildlife Resources Commissioners — passed a Senate vote Feb. 7 and awaits House approval before the bill is sent to Governor Pat McCrory’s desk.

	Politicians, NRA miss target again March 01 at 7:00 am Millions of words — some accurate, many inaccurate — have been spoken and written about the Dec. 14 school shooting and mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Most expressed revulsion at an insane killer’s act that ended the lives of 20 first-graders, five teachers and the principal.

	Sick economy sparks more trout troubles February 01 at 7:00 am One of the results of a depressed economy is people often find ways that aren’t legal to supplement their incomes — to the detriment of public resources such as fisheries or wildlife. That apparently happened this winter in several coastal North Carolina communities. Enforcement officers with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ Marine Patrol, along with sheriff’s deputies, apprehended a string of law-breakers netting fish illegally.

	New administration in unique situation January 01 at 7:00 am For the first time in 20 years, North Carolina will have a Republican governor, Pat McCrory. McCrory and a Republican-dominated legislature will have the power to make needed changes in the state’s wildlife and saltwater resources management.

	Chatham church knows the best gift December 01, 2012 at 7:00 am With the Christmas season here, we thought true meanings might be a timely topic. Now, this column may not be politically correct, but hopefully it’ll be accurate. Christmas isn’t about what it’s become in this country — tinsel and trees, a shopping season that starts in October, too much eating and drinking, and Santa Claus. It’s about the gift given freely to mankind 2,000 years ago.

	Could regs changes mean less venison? November 05, 2012 at 9:00 am If the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission adopts proposed changes in fishing, hunting and trapping laws that were revealed at September’s public hearings, the state’s deer population could see a major decrease starting next year.

	New deer strategy: Will the plan work? October 01, 2012 at 7:00 am The N.C. Wildlife Resources held nine public hearings across the state during September to get public input on proposed changes to hunting, fishing and trapping laws for 2013-14. Most changes weren’t eye-openers, except for two (H 19, H 20) that caught the attention of many deer hunters.

	Gamefish bill tabled but battle isn’t over September 01, 2012 at 7:00 am Legislative bill, H 353, that would have moved three saltwater finfish species — red drum, spotted seatrout and striped bass — into the gamefish category to prevent netting, sale or bartering ended with the 2012 General Assembly’s closure in July. “H 353 in and of itself is gone now, because there’s no avenue to revive it,” said Rep. Darrell McCormick, a Republican from Yadkin County who was a co-sponsor of the bill.

	Politicians playing shell games again August 01, 2012 at 7:00 am North Carolina’s saltwater resources watchers may be jumping too high and too soon with regard to Senate Bill 821, which emerged May 21 after the state legislature’s Marine Resources Study Committee adjourned.

	Gamefish bill looks like a 2013 item July 02, 2012 at 11:55 am As we foresaw, House Bill 353 won’t be reported out of committee during the short session of the 2012 state legislature. The bill would grant “gamefish” status to three saltwater fish species: spotted seatrout, red drum and striped bass. If H 353 ever becomes law, it would probably curtail a struggle that’s morphed into a Hatfields-vs.-McCoys standoff.

	Intended or not, no good consequences June 01, 2012 at 9:40 am “Fanaticism and ignorance are ever busy and need feeding.” — Spencer Tracy as lawyer Henry Drummond in “Inherit the Wind”