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I'm intrigued by a dilemma Radford city leaders are facing. At issue is who should get priorty use on a tract of 250 acres in Montgomery County that the city owns.

The short of it is the city has long permitted hunting on the property by special permit. Recently some bikers helped build about 6 miles of trails. Bikers surprised to find out that hunting is allowed during all open seasons, not just the two-week general firearms deer season, as they assumed, recently asked the city council to change its policy and allow hunting only those two weeks. The council is waiting to decide what to do, and will hear public comments at a meeting in October.

As I wrote in my Sunday column, I'm confident a reasonable compromise can come out of this. No one will have to give up much.

Apparently, others aren't so confident. Our lead editorial today discussed the same topic, and the writer/writers are much more pessimistic.

Maybe I'm a hopeless optimist. I know there's no perfect solution. But I have full confidence the hunters, hikers, bikers and Radford City leaders will prove me right and come up with a good solution.

Things are much busier at the outdoors show today. I saw more people by 10:10 a.m. (10 minutes after the show opened) than I saw all day yesterday.

Ten-year-old Ethan Davis of Bedford stopped by a while back. He was proud of the Robin Hood he shot in the Parker demo area. He shot it with a crossbow on his first shot. There was one arrow already in the target.

"I didn't even see it," he said.

Clearly this kid is not an experienced outdoorsman or he wouldn't have been so honest!

The doors close at the show in a couple of minutes.

The good news is I got my story done. I went up to give my talk and exactly zero people showed up. But that gave me time to finish writing. The editor called after I filed it and said he didn't make any major changes.

With the exception of Tom Bechdel's calls, the show has been really quiet. I usually don't come to these things on Fridays so I don't know how it compares to most Fridays. But some of the vendors are saying it was slower than usual and all are hoping it gets a lot busier tomorrow. I'm sure it will be busier.

I had a good time today talking with people. Quite a few I already knew, which makes sense being as we're all out there doing the outdoors thing. But I met some new people, too, and that was good.

Will be interesting to see how it goes tomorrow.

To help push the outdoors coverage in The Roanoke Times and on Roanoke.com, I'll be spending the next three days at the Virginia Outdoors Sportsmen's Classic at the Salem Civic Center.

I got in here about 10 a.m. this morning to set up. The show starts soon.

I have a challenge. I'm working on an extra story that is slotted to run on A-1 (the front page) on Monday. It's reported but not written. Naturally, the news editor who is overseeing the story needs it by "the end of today."

So I figured I'd try to write for a bit this morning while it's still quiet. But it hasn't been very quiet. Our booth is right next to predator hunter Tom Bechdel. He's been demonstrating his calls, which prompted calls from the Maple Tree Outdoors folks across from us. I'm used to working in noise, but this is tough.

I'll probably blog a few updates from the show. I haven't walked around too much but from what I can see there's quite a bit of interesting stuff to see here.

If you come to the show, stop by our booth and say hello. Just listen for the coyote calls and you'll know where I am.

Virginia sportsmen lost a good friend this weekend. Gene Parker of Bedford died Saturday after a tough battle with cancer.

If you spent much time at the Peaks of Otter you probably knew Gene, or at least had crossed paths with him. He was the Ranger supervisor up there until his retirement a few years ago.

Gene was known for his commitment to getting kids (and adults) outdoors and keeping them out there. In fact, I met Gene through the Bedford Outdoor Sportsmen's Association. It's a small group that raises money to support youth outdoor programs.

Gene and I were both on the BOSA board when the group was formed early this decade. My stint was pretty short but it was a pleasure to see Gene at the meetings and to see the effort he put into his volunteer efforts. That smile on his face in the picture here? I can't remember a time when he didn't have that great expression.

Every year BOSA puts on a modest outdoor show and for years Gene was the guy in charge of putting together the bear display.

Now, Gene could have simply hung a bunch of stuffed bear heads on a piece of peg board and been done with it. But, no. He would show up at the Bedford Armory with a truckload of freshly cut mountain laurel and other greenery and put together an awesome display.

Gene was also known as an excellent tracker, and not just of game. He knew how to find people, and that's pretty much a lost art.

He was an avid hunter, and bear hunting with hounds was his passion. Bear hunters sometimes get a bad rap, but Gene was one of those guys who could change a cynic's opinion. His hunting group killed few of the bears they treed each season. They were in it for the excitement of the chase.

Deer biologist Matt Knox, who knew Gene well, liked to call him "One of the last of the real mountain men." He always knew exactly where he was, no matter how thick it was.

Gene could also cover some ground. Gary Arrington, who's now with Hunters for the Hungry, tells the story of trying to follow Gene as Gene followed the hounds on a bear hunt. Gary affectionately says it seemed like Gene was trying to kill him, and that he'd never seen a man who could move so fast through the thick mountain underbrush.

I talked with Gary yesterday and he said that Gene was just recently talking about wanting to get behind the bear hounds again this fall. He even had asked his family to go buy his hunting license.

Anyone who had the pleasure of knowing Gene Parker would not be surprised by that story.

Here's the obituary from Today's Roanoke Times:

Eugene (Gene) Parker, 61, of Bedford, passed away at his home on Saturday, August 16, 2008, with his wife and daughters by his side. Gene had fought a courageous battle with cancer. Born June 13, 1947, in Roanoke, he was a son of the late William Eugene "Billy" Parker and Ethel Foster Parker. Gene was a loving son, devoted husband and the world's number one dad. He had a passion for bear and deer hunting and was a member of the Bedford Outdoors Sportsmen's Association, the National Wild Turkey Federation and shared his love of the outdoors and hunting with young people and adults with special needs. In addition to his love of the outdoors, Gene was also a tactical tracking instructor for T.T.O.S. and the National Awareness Tracking School. Gene was a member of Salem United Methodist Church, an Army veteran of Viet Nam and was retired as Supervisory Park Ranger with the National Park Service at the Peaks of Otter. He was also a member of the Blue Ridge Parkway Employees and Alumni Association. Gene is survived by his wife of 31 years, Julie Savage Parker; two daughters, Jamie H. Parker, of Monmouth, Ore., and Kelly Jean Mayhew and her husband, Chris, of Bedford; a brother, Joe Parker and his wife, Jackie, of Bedford; a sister, Ginny Parker Holman and her husband, Bill, of Charlottesville; a niece, Sharon Holman; three nephews, Joseph Parker Jr., Michael Parker and David Parker; his mother-in-law, Dorothy H. Savage, of Bedford; and two brother-in-laws, Stewart Savage and his wife, Carolyn, and Vann Savage and his wife, Linda. Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Thursday, August 21, 2008, at Main Street United Methodist Church with the Rev. Jack Davis officiating. Interment will follow in Oakwood Cemetery with Military Graveside Rites by American Legion Post #16. Memorial contributions may be made to Salem United Methodist Church, c/o Bonnie Dagenhart, 1722 Broadway Ave., Bedford, Va. 24523 or The National D-Day Memorial Foundation, P.O. Box 77, Bedford, Va. 24523. The family will receive friends from 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, August 20, 2008, at Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Bedford, Va., 540-586-3443. To send condolences online, please visit www.tharpfuneralhome.com.

John Palecki of Roanoke just sent me this shot of a big rattlesnake he and his wife encountered on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Peaks of Otter this past weekend.

They actually drove past it, turned around and drove back to get shots.

"And, no, we did not get out of the car!" Palecki pointed out.

In addition to making me shudder, this picture makes me realize that I'm not always as careful as I should be when I'm out there knocking around in the woods -- often with my two little girls. I've never encountered a rattler out there but, obviously, they're out there.

I hope my wife doesn't decide to check out my blog anytime soon or I won't be taking her or the kids hiking for a loooooonnnnnngggg time.

We took a quick jaunt to Virginia Beach to see my mother-in-law and brother-in-law over the July 4 weekend.

We got to the beach a couple of days and I was pleasantly surprised to find some decent little waves. Surfing is not allowed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. so I left my old board at the house and took my brother-in-law's boogie board down. It was perfect because it was big enough to float both me and the girls. We caught a good number of waves and, as you can see from the smile Maddy's face here, the girls had a blast. As for my expression here, we were really close to "going of the falls," which could have been ugly had I smashed

On a couple of smaller waves I sent the girls off on their own and they got crushed. My wife freaked out a bit but the girls were fine with it. They can't wait to go "surfing" again, and neither can I. It probably won't happen until the middle of September when there's a triathlon in Virginia Beach (the Sandman) I hope to do. Although, if the waves are good for surfing that might not bode well for the 1,000-meter ocean swim in the Sandman.

This blog has been quiet for the past week because I've been in Bismarck, N.D. for a conference.

When I told people I was going to Bismarck for a conference the first thing they wanted to know was, "Who in their right mind holds a conference in North Dakota?" The Outdoor Writers Association of America, is who. The OWAA traditionally tries to hold conferences in areas where the outdoors are important, and that certainly holds true with Bismarck.

Contrary to the belief of my wife and a number of others, it wasn't a vacation. I spent five days in meetings, seminars and panels, and most nights with planned events. As some of you might have seen in the DGIF's Outdoor Report, I was recently elected to the OWAA's board of directors (thanks to all who have sent congratulations) so that added to my responsibilities, too.

I guess I could have found some time for blog entries on some of the happenings up there -- and I plan to touch on some of the topics. But while the stuff was of interest to me, most of it might not be for others as it was a lot of nuts and bolts-type stuff.

I'd be lying if I didn't admit to having some fun socializing in the evening with friends I get to see but once a year. One night I even broke from my non-gambling form and played some blackjack at the motel bar. They can run the games because all profits go to the local convention and visitor's bureau.

It's a small stakes game, with $1 minimum bets and $25 max bets. I started with $20 in chips and figured to play $1 and $2 bets until I ran out. Amazingly, I didn't run out. When I cashed out after two hours of playing I had $55 in chips, and I'd actually tipped the dealers some, too.

That game provided a couple surreal moments. One, two guys took a bathroom break and found the men's room closed for cleaning. So they knocked on the door and went into the women's bathroom. Well, the woman cleaning the men's room saw this and went ballistic. Next thing we know she's in there with two security guards yelling, "There they are! That's them!" Fortunately the guards, who were straight out of an episode of "Reno 911," agreed to let the perpetrators off with a warning.

Later in the game the guy sitting next to me took a drink of red wine, swallowed down the wrong pipe, coughed and blew his wine all over the dealer and our cards. Amazingly, she let him keep playing after he tipped her generously and helped wipe off the cards.

I did manage to slip in one outdoors adventure, staying an extra day to go prairie dog shooting. It was pretty interesting and I hope to do a story for the paper and post a video here when the story runs.

A couple days I put a little note up under the Quick Thoughts category about e-mail addresses on the comment form. Simply put, I modeled it after the policy in place over on The Roundtable Blog. It simply states that a valid e-mail address is required on the comment submission form.

I didn't think it was that big of deal, but a co-worker has since called it a "rant" and another guy sent in a note claiming I was stifling his 1st ammendment rights. (I think he may have been yanking my chain, but couldn't quite be sure.)

Maybe I'm being too sensitive but this has been bothering me.

I know assumed anonymity (I say "assumed" because, as most of you know, it's pretty easy to track down all but the sneakiest and smartest tech geeks in Cyberspace) is one of the appeals of the Internet. So while some people have no problem posting full names with their comments, many people want their opinions to be seen but don't want those opinions attached to their real names.

I've got no problem with that. It probably helps spur more interesting debate than we'd have if we required, as we do for letters to the editor in the newspaper, a valid name and hometown (and a phone number for verification).

That said, I promise you it's REALLY EASY to post a comment with a valid e-mail and still remain anonymous. As I wrote in the Quick Thought note, the e-mail won't be made public. It won't be accesible to spambots. Etc. Just put "Billy Bob" in the name section and that's what your comment will appear under.

I really don't care who you are. So if your regular e-mail address contains your name and you don't want me (or another site administrator) to see it, it's also REALLY EASY to create a valid e-mail account with any number of services (such as yahoo or gmail) for anonymous posting. Heck, I've done it. After the Nebraska Huskers pulled a trick play on my alma mater while leading by something like 30 points in the second half, I posed as an idiot Nebraska fan and had a lot of fun posting on Husker fan sites.

The fact is, the vast majority of posters here are totally cool with using a legit e-mail address with their comments. So this policy will affect very few people.

Now, it will \probably affect one group -- the animal rights folks who get on here from time to time. They rarely use valid e-mail addresses. I guess they don't trust me to keep the address private. Maybe they're afraid I'm going to form a posse to track them down.

I suspect the requirement will cut down on comments from them, and I have mixed feelings about that because I have to admit that those back-and-forths can be pretty entertaining.

On the other hand, some of the animal rights comments can be pretty outrageous, bordering on personal attacks. I'm not one to stifle free speech, but I don't think it's unreasonable to ask them to at least be willing to take a little responsibility for what they're typing.

So, I guess what I'm wondering is what other folks think about it? Is the policy reasonable? If not, why not?

I could be convinced to go back to the Wild West if someone presents a compelling enough case.

It's a proven fact that everybody loves the Police Blotter. You know, that feature in the local paper that lists that week's arrests. (The big crimes usually get more ink, of course.)

Police blotters might not be so appealing if they contained only boring things like vehicle break-ins, basic larcenies and speeding tickets. But they don't. Along with those basic crimes, the blotters detail all kinds of crazy and, frankly, funny stuff.

Regular cops aren't the only ones dealing with wacky stuff. Conservation Police Officers (formerly game wardens) run into some kooky situations, and now the regular public can read some of the highlights (or lowlights, in some cases).

The report runs in the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' Outdoor Report.

Not all of these are funny. One of the reports in the latest version details an officer's involvement with a case in which a woman died when her car went into the water at a boat ramp on the Shenandoah River.

But then there's the story about the felon who, when caught with a dead deer and a muzzleloader, claimed both belonged to a mysterious friend. The friend, of course, never showed up to claim the deer and gun.

The report a couple of weeks ago included a write-up on a couple of bass fishermen nailed for cheating at a tournament at Claytor Lake. I'm planning to use that story as a basis for a newspaper column.

The only problem with the notebook? Unlike the regular police blotters, this one doesn't include the names of the arrested.