clayman

If this doesn't belong in the Lounge, please redirect it... http://www.twincities.com/ci_8951197?nclick_check=1 Principal tells PETA: Kids hunt, get over it Rural Wisconsin school won't remove photos of students, dead game By Chris Niskanen [email protected] Article Last Updated: 04/16/2008 11:27:02 PM CDT Do hunting and middle-school education mix? They do in tiny Poplar, Wis., where a middle-school bulletin board featuring pictures of students with their dead game has been caught in the crossfire of the national anti-hunting movement. Ken Bartelt, principal of Northwestern Middle School, refuses to take down the pictures of student hunters holding their ruffed grouse, deer and bear after complaints from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "Half of our school board are hunters,'' he said of the rural northern Wisconsin district, where hunting is a long-held tradition. "How could I explain that to them?" Last week, PETA wrote to Bartelt, asking him to remove the bulletin board because it encourages a "dangerous mindset" of violence in students. The bulletin board with about 50 student pictures is in science teacher Russ Bailey's classroom. Bailey is a volunteer firearms safety instructor, and the pictures feature some of his students. PETA's April 7 news release, however, sparked a flood of e-mails to Bartelt from across the nation, both for and against the bulletin board. The release was posted on PETA's Web site. "Northwestern Middle School's 'hunting wall' is nothing more than a monument to violence, suffering and death,'' wrote PETA officials. The organization drew further connections between hunting and school shootings, including the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado. Responding to the furor has "been very time-consuming for us,'' said Bartelt, whose rural school is in a town of 570 people. Bartelt said his research shows no connection between hunting and school violence. He fired off a letter to PETA saying, "Hunting is a part of the culture, not only in our school but in many parts of the country, and especially so in northern Wisconsin. "Students here at school get excited about it, and it seems that's all they talk about before and after they return." During his five years as principal, he said, there have never been any violent acts. Even fistfights are "almost nonexistent," he wrote. Bartelt doesn't hunt and grew up "a city kid." In an interview, he said, "Violence in our society is because of family and societal issues. I think hunter safety classes and hunting teaches respect for weapons, and that they are not for fun, destruction or violence. Hunters are probably the least violent subset of our society." The bulletin board has been on Bailey's wall for many years and features the same hunting pictures printed in local newspapers, Bartelt said. PETA's Sangeeta Kumar, who wrote the letter to Bartelt, said hunting and animal abuse lead to abuse of humans. "There is a very strong connection between animal abuse and abuse toward human beings," she said. "As far as we're concerned, hunting is animal abuse. In these days of school violence, we shouldn't be encouraging kids to pick up guns." She said PETA would not print Bartelt's response letter on its Web site. "It's not our responsibility to defend indefensible actions," she said. The bulletin board was featured in a newsletter to parents called News of Your Schools. Kumar said the newsletter was sent to PETA after several Poplar citizens alerted the organization, based in Norfolk, Va. It's not the first time PETA has targeted Wisconsin pastimes. The group once requested that the Green Bay Packers change the team's name because it highlighted violence to animals in slaughterhouses. It suggested Green Bay Six Packers, to honor the state's beer-brewing tradition. While hunting may be part of the culture of northern Wisconsin, "culture is no excuse for cruelty,'' Kumar said. Bartelt said he hasn't received complaints from Poplar citizens or parents about the hunting-picture bulletin board. He said if it weren't for hunting, the ancestors of today's PETA members might not have survived life in the wilderness. "I doubt there were many vegetarians 150 years ago,'' he said. "PETA's members' ancestors survived because of hunting. Why was it acceptable for their great grandfathers to hunt? It seems hypocritical to me at some point." Read PETA's letter and Principal Ken Bartelt's response... PETA’s letter to Principal Bartelt Ken Bartelt, Principal Northwestern Middle School 10555 E. U.S. Hwy. 2 Poplar, WI 54864 April 7, 2008 Dear Principal Bartelt, I’m writing on behalf of PETA and our more than 1.8 million members and supporters worldwide. A member in your community has contacted us recently about the disturbing actions of one of your school’s teachers. The teacher erected a “hunting wall,” where students are encouraged to display pictures of animals that they have killed. We hope you agree that in this era of increased violence and school-shooting rampages, it is vital that students learn to foster empathy for others rather than aggression. Teaching children to exercise kindness and respect and to protect even the smallest and most unloved among us helps them to value one another and the world around them. The “hunting wall” undermines these efforts and sets a precedent for a dangerous mindset that glorifies—and even rewards—violence. We urge you to permanently prohibit this kind of display on school property. Violent acts toward animals have long been recognized as indicators of a dangerous psychopathy that does not confine itself to animals. You might not be aware of the following chilling facts: · According to published reports, in every recent school shooting, a consistent warning sign preceded the attacks: All the young killers abused and/or killed animals before turning on their classmates. · The majority of inmates scheduled to be executed for murder at California’s San Quentin penitentiary “practiced” their crimes on animals, according to the warden · FBI profilers, the American Psychiatric Association, law enforcement officials, and child-advocacy organizations all agree that animal abuse is a warning sign often seen in children who eventually direct violence toward humans. As educators, we must start making lessons of compassion a priority. Instilling a sense of compassion in children today is the best way to prevent violence tomorrow. As a humane educator for 15 years, I have worked with students all over the country to inspire them to make a positive impact in their communities. If you need any assistance, I would be happy to help you develop a program to replace the “hunting wall” with something positive and empowering, such as a wall to recognize students who have shown exceptional character by helping their peers, animals, or the community at large. This wall would help foster an environment that promotes social responsibility, which your school’s mission statement claims to embrace. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, Sangeeta Kumar, M. Ed. TeachKind Coordinator Principal Bartelt’s letter to PETA To: Sangeeta Kumar, PETA From: Ken Bartelt, Principal I would like to respond to the fax you sent me the morning of April 7th. There are several issues on which I feel your letter to me was either inaccurate or uninformed, or both. (1) Hunting is a part of the culture not only in our school but in many parts of the country, and especially so in northern Wisconsin. Hunting in many cases is a family activity that has been passed down from generation to generation. Families spend weeks before hunting season getting ready and often time plan their family vacations around hunting season. Students here at school get excited about it and it seems that’s all they talk about before and after they return. These aren’t violent students—they are taking part in family culture and it’s important to them. Between hunting and Packer games—not much else is bigger in these families’ lives when the fall season rolls around. The hunting wall is an extension of that culture here in our community. (2) The hunting wall does not glorify violence. The hunting wall represents how many people provide for their families. People here hunt for a much different reason than someone taking a safari to be able to trophy some exotic animal. Many, if not most, hunt so they can have food for the year. They do not hunt “for fun” but rather to feed their families. In the article about Mr. Bailey, it mentions that this is part of what he also teaches—how to prepare the animals for consumption. There is no glorifying killing, but rather showing students how to hunt properly and safely and then eat what they have killed. (3) To correlate hunting with increased violence in our society and with youth, as your letter states, does not hold merit. If hunting did indeed lead to violent behavior, then there would have been much more violence in our society in past generations when more people hunted compared to today. Hunters are not a growing number in our country. Their numbers have declined as our society has changed to a more urban lifestyle. Yet violence has increased dramatically in our society at the same time the number of hunters has decreased. Violence in our society is from a wide range of social and family influences, but not from hunting. Hunters are taught respect for weapons and what they should and should not be used for. They do this not only to protect themselves, but other hunters as well. Hunters are not a violent sub-set of society and to imply such is not only wrong but also unfair to hunters everywhere. (4) Your quote, “violent acts toward animals have long been recognized as indicators of a dangerous psychopath” is extremely out of context. The people you are referring to are those people that as youth either abused or tortured a family pet, or found a frog or animal in their yard and then slowly killed it without any remorse or found some pleasure in the animal’s suffering. Those are, indeed, sick people. But this is NOT what hunting or hunters are about. To try to make that connection that young people growing up and participating in hunting will have a greater tendency to be a dangerous psychopath is grossly unfair to hunters of all ages. (5) Your letter said that “in every recent school shooting….all the young killers abused and/or killed animals before turning on their classmates.” I have never seen any information of this kind to date. If you have any data to back up your statement, please forward it to me. From what I’ve read in newspapers and magazines, school shootings are more the result of students being victimized by teasing, harassment, bullying, and social isolation—not from students who have hunted wild game. (6) Your letter gives the tone, and even uses the phrase “dangerous mindset”, that this school, and me as the principal, condone violence and do not work on social responsibility. I have five sons. Two of which have gone through this middle school and one is in it right now. If I thought for even one second that anything we do here would promote violence or lead to anyone being harmed, I would put a stop to it immediately. I care deeply about providing a safe school where students feel comfortable and secure in their safety. This is my 5th year as principal here and we have had very few violent behaviors in those five years. Fighting is almost non-existent and overall our students are well behaved. The fact that many of these same students partake in hunting is a testament that hunting does not lead to violence in the school. (7) Your letter states that you would be happy to help me “develop a program to replace the hunting wall with something positive and empowering.” We already have an advisory program that every 2-3 weeks works on one of the 36 character education qualities that we promote in the school. We work very hard to instill good values into our students so they grow up to be good citizens someday. I feel our hunting wall is something positive for our students and our community and in no way has negatively affected how well run this school is or how well behaved our students are. We have a caring staff and the support of a good community—those are far more important factors. After reading this, you are more than likely under the impression that I’m a pickup truck driving, rifle carrying, NRA supporting, devout hunter myself. The fact is—I’ve never shot a weapon in my life. My dad wasn’t a hunter and I never took an interest in it and still don’t. However, I have a great deal of respect for hunters and for people like Mr. Bailey who teach hunter safety. A great majority of hunters hunt responsibly; eat what they’ve harvested, and help keep deer herds in check. Our hunting wall is a reflection of this culture and still has my support. I think the starvation of animals, mistreatment and/or neglect of pets and livestock is something that is wrong and I support PETA on those stances. However, your intentions should not extend to hunting or fishing. Thank you for bringing this issue to your web page and to our local media. You have my permission to print my response in its entirety so others can get the entire picture of what our school is doing and to dispel the accusations contained in your letter.

That's the same advice my taxidermist gave me for cleaning my duck mounts. Feather duster and swiffer sheets.

If I could only do that with my trash can... The little buggers chewed a hole in the lids of every can on my alley. Then they get in there when they run their route and shred everyones bags and drag bits of trash out into the alley.

One of the last posts I made was several months ago talking about my being laid off from a job I held for nearly ten years. I'm thrilled to say that the nightmare of unemployment is finally over! While I really enjoyed all the extra time I had to spend with my kids, I'm glad to finally be getting back to work and earning a living again. I just accepted a job offer to work at a local State University. I'll be working with academic advisors assigning students to advisors, tracking them through the system and through their time at the University. The best part of the job is that it comes with tuition reimbursement and I intend to take full advantage of it and start working on a masters degree that I've been considering for some time. The down side to the new job is that my annual ten-day waterfowling vacation to Manitoba is out of the picture this year. Oh well, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make...this time.

Re: Forum vs. Work [ QUOTE ] When I was working,I spent alot of time on the forums [/ QUOTE ] Same here. Although it never detracted from getting the job done. Unfortunately I lost my job due an "electoral" downsizing a couple of months ago and now my internet, aside from my job searching, is sporadic at best. Man, I really need to get online at home!

Re: Look at my jewelry..... Gotta love the bonus of getting a banded bird!

Friends I know I'm not the most prolific poster here, and most of you only know me passingly. I was a legislative aide in the Minnesota House of Representatives for nearly ten years. However the results of this last election were severe enough that 50% of the jobs in my office were in jeopardy. Last week everyone who wished to stay employed here were asked to interview for a position. On Wednesday of this week I was called in and informed that there would not be a position for me. The news was not as shocking as it could have been as it is a scenario that is very real for any of us who work in this business where the whims of the voters can have greater impacts than just on those who run for office. I am pursuing other leads and hope to have a new job in place soon, and am enthusiastically optimistic about my opportunities ahead. I ask that you keep me and my young family in your prayers as we face the uncertainties ahead. I don't subscribe to internet services at home so I will be offline for a shortwhile until I land in a new position somewhere soon. Your prayers are warmly welcome. Sincerely, Clay (aka Clayman)

Re: Home-made field blind??? I'm not sure why you believe you need spring loaded doors. You have way more time than you think, and the geese are typically so focused on their landing zone and the decoys that there is a time delay between your movement and the geese actually realizing that something is happening below them that they need to take evasive action. I understand that you envision this in your design, but in reality, spring loaded doors are an unnecessary complication that won't give you any advantage in the time it takes to sit up, lock on a bird, and shoot before your target gets out of range.

Re: Home-made field blind??? I'm not so sure about the beach chair idea, but if you can make it work for you then go for it. We've all done the routine of lying on the bare ground and using some sort of camo material to cover up with. You can take that a step further and make a low profile incline with a piece of plywood so that getting up to shoot isn't such a pain in the rear. While I applaud the "do-it-yourself" approach, I've gotten to the point where I'd rather set aside some cash each pay day until I have enough money to buy a decent lay-down blind. Heck the Avery Power Hunter in field kahki is pretty reasonable at $125 and $155 in camo.

Re: Favorite Christmas Movie? I've got a couple of favorites. As has already been mentioned, "A Christmas Story" is one of them. Bill Murry's "Scrooged" is up there on my list too. I would have to say that my all time favorite though is Bing Crosby's "White Christmas." And although it's not a movie..."A Charlie Brown Christmas." The first prime time Christmas special that actually was brave enough to incorporate the biblical Christmas story.

Re: The new $1 coins One article I read said the new coins will represent a nearly $1 billion intrest free loan to the Federal Treasury. The premise is the same as philatelly (stamp collecting) and coin collecting. Much like the current state quarters that millions of people are collecting. You get the coin from the Treasury at face value and then you put it away somewhere and don't spend it, in essence giving the Treasury an interest free loan for as long as you keep the coin stashed away and out of circulation.

Re: Pasties This thread reminds me that I've got some pasties waiting for me in my Mom's freezer that I bought from the local church fundraiser. Anyway...for a history on the origins of the pasty look here: PASTY HISTORY

Re: Just some pics Tree doesn't go up in my house until after Thanksgiving.

Re: Pasties Hot-Pockets up here too, Andrea, but man...those things are vile. They're like something you eat just because you can't find anything else, and then after you do, you wish you hadn't.

Re: Pasties [ QUOTE ] looks like garbage to me... yuck. [/ QUOTE ] Oh, God no! pasties are awesome. Think of them in terms of a homemade pot pie. Basically a roast beef dinner (roast, potatoes, carrots, gravy) all sealed in a crust. It's definately an upper midwest thing.