Girl reported shot on Grouse Creek

I'm sure I'll wind up getting shelled for this, but just had to comment. I don't know if this young girl was in the same group that we saw in that area on Wednesday afternoon last week, but I am led to think its possible if not probable. What we witnessed is one of those things that just makes me wonder how a lot of people think. It was early afternoon when what looked like a father and grandfather pulled up to the top of a draw and unloaded a group of kids, everything from teenagers down to one little girl that looked to be about a second or third grader that was being led along by what I would guess was an older sibling. Some had rifles, others obviously didn't as they were too young to hunt, to their credit everyone was wearing orange. Though we couldn't hear what instructions were being given it looked a lot like a deer drive as the kids spread out across the draw and started hiking down as Dad and Grandpa probably went down to the base of the draw to see what might come out.

My problem isn't with the ethics or hunting regulations part of the equation, it's with the fact that all these kids, even kids way too young to hunt, were out of school in the middle of the week. Don't get me wrong, I grew up in a small town a lot like Mountain Home with a very strong hunting heritage, and being in a farm family we had an established connection with the land, but I was never out in the woods if opening day was in the middle of the week, getting an education was too important to my parents. At the time was I somewhat jealous of the kids that were absent on opening day, yes, but were my parents right in making a good education a higher priority, absolutely. What these parents say is "school isn't as important as the opening of hunting season", what the kids wind up hearing is "school's not important". In the long run that attitude is far more damaging to their future than not getting out in the woods for opening day.

Oh good lord...... Missing a few days of school to hunt with your Grandpa ( My son was probably one of those children you saw )is not an education deal breaker. Made arrangements with the school to get any school work ahead of time so that they can work on it in between hunting time. My son also has a 4.0 average and always has and went back to school yesterday with every bit of his homework copmpleted. School is important just as spending quality time with a Grandparent that lives 3 states away and only comes to Idaho a few times a year, and teaching his Grand Children to hunt is also a very important thing. Just because we let our children miss 2 days of school to hunt doesnt make our priorities any different for our children. Had you never taken a vacation and missed a day of school in your entire 13 years in school? Really? Give me a break! Or your own children....I seriously doubt that you havent. You sound bitter.....And might I mention this has ZERO to do with the terrible accident that happened, which BTW could happen on any day of the week, not just a day they child isnt in school.