KEYSTONE CLIPS State rep opposes lowering of hunting age

State Rep. Rod Wilt of Greenville, R-17th, thinks lowering the hunting age in Pennsylvania to 10 would be a mistake.
A bill recently introduced in the state House would lower the minimum legal hunting age from 12 to 10, provided the applicant has completed a hunting safety course.
"While I support youth hunts and other hunting activities, I believe strongly that most 10-year-olds do not have the physical strength and agility to handle a large, high-powered hunting rifle. It is simply the wrong thing to do at a time when we are trying to reduce the number of hunting-related injuries and fatalities," he said.
Wilt is a member of the House Game and Fisheries Committee and said he won't support any effort to move that bill out of the committee.
Tax-free computers: Pennsylvania is offering another of those tax-free holidays for personal-computer buyers. People who buy a home computer for nonbusiness use between Aug. 5 and 12 won't have to pay the state's 6 percent sales tax.
The tax break also covers separate purchases of computer accessories and Internet service devices. The break covers purchases at all retail stores in Pennsylvania as well as computers purchased by mail or on the Internet. Shipping and handling fees also will be tax-free during the tax holiday period.
Dedication plaque: The founder of the Joe Shafran Oral History Project in Mercer County would like to see history commemorated as part of the new Oakland Avenue Viaduct under construction.
The county is replacing the old structure, and Joe Shafran said the traditional dedicatory plaque to be placed on the structure should include engraved sketches of the original steel bridge built in the early 1900s and the concrete one that replaced it in 1936. The Oral History Project would be willing to help with the plaque, Shafran said in a recent letter to county commissioners.
Political event: Lawrence County District Attorney Matt Mangino is joining more than 300 elected officials from around the country today through Tuesday at the Democratic Leadership Council's 2001 National Conversation in Indianapolis.
The theme for this year's event is "New Ideas, Enduring Values." Mangino will have an opportunity to showcase the work he's doing in several areas including crime prevention education.
Presentations also will be made by former vice-presidential nominee U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, former first lady Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota.
XCONTRIBUTORS: Harold Gwin, Vindicator Sharon Bureau, and Virginia Ross, correspondent.