Hunter Education and the Solar Eclipse

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The floodgates holding back the world of Kansas Hunting will swing wide open Sept. 1 with the opening of dove season, and after that the opportunities for hunting and fur harvesting here in our state will be nonstop until next spring. In anticipation of that, Eagle Communications and the Hays chapter of Pheasants Forever are sponsoring the 20th Annual Youth Outdoor Festival Saturday August 19 at the Hays City Sportsman’s Club located ¼ mile north of I-70 exit 157. The event will run from 9 AM to 3 PM and is a FREE day of target shooting and other outdoor activities for youth 17 and younger and their families. Experienced volunteer instructors will be teaching trap and skeet shooting, and target shooting with archery equipment, air rifles and BB guns, muzzle loaders, and small bore rifles. There will also be a casting competition, paint ball target shooting and a fur harvesting demonstration. Hunter education certificates are not required, but all youth must be accompanied by an adult. A free lunch will be provided and all youth will have chances to win guns, fishing tackle and other outdoor equipment. Contact Kent Hensley at 785-726-3212 or Troy Mattheyer at 785-726-4212.

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And speaking of hunter education, it’s time to get registered for a Hunter Education class if you need one, and thanks to internet-assisted courses, getting a hunter education certificate here in Kansas has never been more convenient. To summarize the requirements, students must be 11 years old or older to take a hunter ed. course, and although someone 15 or younger may hunt without being certified if directly supervised by a hunter 18 or over, anyone else born after July 1, 1957 must pass a certified Hunter Education course before hunting in the state of Kansas. Internet-assisted classes allow students to complete all class work at home then attend a field day to complete their certification. Field days consist of live-fire practice at a range, trail walks and safe gun handling exercises. Students wishing to take their course this way must be registered for a field day before completing their internet class work. Traditional classroom courses are still available for students preferring that atmosphere, but will require two or three days to complete. To see a list of available courses and to get registered, go to www.ksoutdoors.com, click “Hunting” then “Hunter Education.” Classes fill up quickly so to be ready to hunt when the “floodgates” of hunting seasons open Sept. 1, get signed up now!

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’m sure by now you’ve heard about the total solar eclipse to be seen over Kansas next week, and I’d  bet you’ve heard rumblings about it even under your rock. Next Monday, August 21 there will be a total solar eclipse visible over much of the US, its path of “totality” being a strip 70 miles wide stretching in an arc from central Oregon through South Carolina. Folks in northeast Kansas will have the best seats in our state, but the rest of us will still be treated to a good show. I searched the internet to no avail until my eyes were crossed, trying to find a website that would show everyone in the state, no matter their location just how much of the eclipse they would see. Then I finally wised up and contacted Ross Janssen, Chief Meteorologist for KWCH TV. Ross gave me an absolutely amazing website, www.eyes.nasa.gov/eclipse; it works best for me on Google Chrome. When the website opens, click “desk top application” on the right, then click “try eclipse 2017 web app,” then click “launch interactive.” After it loads, click “enter,” then a box will appear that reads “click globe or use menu to add locations;” click on the words “Got It.” On the right will appear a box with a small list of cities and some plus signs (+) below them. Click on one of the plus signs (+) and a box will open center screen that will let you type in the name of a city or town or a zip code, then click on the small box that says “add.”  Your location will appear marked on the large globe in the center of the screen, and in the lower right corner, a moving image will appear that shows you how the eclipse will appear at your location, plus timeline information as to when the eclipse will begin and end there.

Over the next week, you’ll find dozens of columns and stories full of facts and information about this eclipse, so I won’t attempt to dazzle you with more. However, the next two total solar eclipses visible from Kansas are calculated to happen in the years 2045 and 2169. So get some eclipse glasses or dust off you welding helmet and watch this thing next Monday; yet ANOTHER way to Explore Kansas Outdoors!

Steve can be contacted by email at [email protected].

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