Comments on: Discuss Sunday's editorials

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:38:46 +0000

"but hikers and bikers have few wilderness tracts where they can enjoy isolation. If the city hopes to attract young, fit professionals, trail amenities would help."

The problem I have with this is it appears you try and juxtapose "young, fit, professionals" against hunters. Not only that but also there are a myriad of places to hike in rural SW VA where hunting either doesn't take place or only occurs during certain seasons. Examples are Blue Ridge Parkway trails and GW and TJ National Forest trails. Hey, why not read your own sources for hiking?
http://www.roanoke.com/outdoors/hiking/wb/xp-index

By: Dan Radmacher

Dan Radmacher — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:34:27 +0000

Jim,

Hunting is only allowed in designated areas of state parks.

By: Jim

Jim — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:23:01 +0000

Isn't hunting / trapping allowed in state parks during season? And don't hikers use state parks as well? How is this conflict different from that?

By: fathokieboy

fathokieboy — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 09:04:31 +0000

Radford City Council needs to decide which group gets the right to use the land. I feel like the hunters should have the land by itself during hunting season. The bikers and hikers have Bisset Park and the Conelly's run trails in Radford. In Pulaski Co they can go to the New River Trail and in Montgomery Co they can go to the trails there.

I do not think that the hunters would be allowed to hunt at bisset park or on other trails in Radford.

By: Sandi Saunders

Sandi Saunders — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:02:00 +0000

These decisions should have been addressed before people were allowed to make trails in hunting areas. So the board has already failed a duty.

Trapping can be a barbaric practice that should be done with humane traps or none at all. Regardless of who or what you think might be or should be in the area.

Hunting areas are consistently shrinking, however unless they are exceptionally lazy hunters, I cannot imagine that those woods are going to be full of hunters, but I will also add that the vast majority of hunters do not simply aim at anything that moves, are fairly certain their shot will hit the target and the 'danger' in this situation is more from irresponsible people than hunting per se.

Signage and public awareness efforts should be all that is required for this particular area so that one group's "enjoyment" does not dictate to another group's "enjoyment". And the board should be on duty before the next time trails are requested/planned.

I am a vegetarian. I have no love for trappers, and while I would not hunt, I understand the importance it has for many people and they were there first.

By: Henry

Henry — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:23:54 +0000

An arrow? A jogger is more likely to be hurt by a wild animal or a pet running loose than a hunter.

By: Lee

Lee — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:38:46 +0000

When biker's and hiker's start contributing to the DGIF like us hunters do then they have no reason to complain about how the land is to be used. and that goes for all public land as well.

By: Frank Munley

Frank Munley — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:20:07 +0000

Thank you for your clear exposition of the AIG mess. I agree with you that congress should have complete information on (as you put it) AIG's "partners in idiocy." But you fail to mention the need for temporary nationalization, which will separate the junk from the good stuff and properly reward or punish those involved. As I understand it, the FDIC has been taking over about two banks a week. Isn't this temporary nationalization? Of course, none of these banks are giant financial institutions like AIG. What's good for the small should work for the giants (and for the country at large) too. The trouble is that the media is still swayed and blinded by right-wing ideology about free-market worship and the evils of government action.

By: Jake

Jake — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:11:25 +0000

Funny, it seems like the hunters and trappers were there first. People who build where there is a pre-existing use have no right to complain about that use continuing. Especially when it's their own lack of planning that makes it a problem.

The hunters and trappers should not have to pay for the hikers' and bikers' failure to pay attention.

By: Al

Al — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:01:49 +0000

RE AIG: Once again you lack of reporting detail leaves people in the dark. The Associated Press reports that two dozen US and foreign financial institutions collected $50 billion from AIG. The WSJ reports that Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank AG each got $6 billion. Also getting money was Merrill Lynch, Societe Generale SA (French bank), Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland, and HSBC. All this said, I wish we could see which other concerns, esp foreign ones, got some big bucks out of this but so far the fed refuses to tell us.