Canyon hike reunion spurs 1960 Scouts
Pulling stuff from a mixed bag:
•A few weeks ago, we reported on a Boy Scout troop from Fort Wayne that hiked the Grand Canyon from rim to rim in 1960.
At least some of the Scouts want to do it again in three years, commemorating the 50th anniversary of their hike and the 100th anniversary of Scouting in the United States.
Jim Pinter, one of the planners of the reunion hike, e-mailed last week with an update.
Three Scouts who weren’t in the group picture that ran with the article but were on the trip have reconnected with Pinter and Richard Stamats. Others have indicated an interest in strapping on the boots for another hike.
“So the article is having the exact effect we had hoped,” Pinter said.
Another former Scout, Jim Stone, drove from Dayton to Fort Wayne recently to visit friends, some who had been on the trip, and to celebrate their 60th birthdays.
Pinter said Stone was thinking on his own that a rim-to-rim repeat was on his list of “things to do before he dies.”
When Stone arrived for the party intent on convincing the others of his idea, they handed him a copy of The Journal Gazette article.
“Now he’s decided to go with us as a group,” Pinter wrote. “Another timely coincidence.”
Pinter also pointed out there was an error in the article. His correct e-mail address is
synergy1@compuserve.com
.
•During its recent meeting at Pokagon State Park, the Indiana Natural Resources Commission gave final approval to allow possession of a handgun on state-managed properties, such as Pokagon and other parks, provided the person is licensed to carry a handgun.
Kyle Hupfer, former director of the Department of Natural Resources, lifted the handgun ban last year through an emergency order, but that order was scheduled to expire in September.
His order also allowed hunters to carry a handgun for personal protection when hunting deer and wild turkeys or chasing raccoons and opossums, but it was the parks’ portion of the rule that got the most attention.
The DNR conducted two public hearings and collected more than 400 comments by mail, e-mail and phone. The DNR reported that comments ran 3-1 in favor and also noted that Michigan and Ohio have no handgun prohibition on their state properties.
Final adoption of the rule did not go unchallenged. The Rev. Damian Schmelz, a Catholic priest and the Indiana Academy of Science representative to the NRC, sparked a brief discussion by asking what precipitated the action.
“I don’t want people carrying guns to church,” he said. “Do they have a right?
“It smells of an obsession to me. I’ve got my gun. I want to carry it where I want. I don’t want anyone to tell me no.”
The rule passed with Schmelz casting the only “no” vote.
Handguns still won’t be allowed at eight DNR-managed reservoirs owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, including Roush and Salamonie, because of a federal government ban.