Outdoors enthusiast Miner will be missed

This spring, when the Columbiana County Chapter of Ducks Unlimited holds its annual banquet, there will be a void felt that will be as tangible as the paintings, decoys, duck calls, shotguns and other prizes the club offers during the event.
A little more than two weeks ago, one of the chapter's members was on a business trip to western Ohio. Paul Miner Jr., 39, was on the Ohio Turnpike near Toledo when his life was cut short in a traffic accident.
Stunned at news
Everyone who knew Miner were stunned at the news of his death. And those who knew him in conjunction with DU know just how much the local organization has lost with his death.
"Everybody is pretty much still in mourning," said Vince Furrie of Columbiana.
Furrie, a close friend of Miner and a fellow DU member, remains upset about the death.
He owns and operates several Sparkle Market grocery stores in the area and said that he knew Miner since the East Rochester man was about 16.
"I hired him and gave him his first job as a stockboy at one of my stores," he said. Miner's death was still too fresh for Furrie to talk about, and he had to pass the phone off to his wife, Jill.
He was lighthearted
"Paul was lighthearted and always in a great mood," she said. "He never said a bad word about anybody. He was a wonderful kid and will be sorely missed."
To give you some kind of idea just how much he will be missed, Greg Fitzpatrick, a Columbiana Chapter DU member from Beloit, sent me over a few figures on Miner's club legacy.
Since the local chapter began having a fund-raising banquet in 1993, Fitzpatrick said, DU headquarters said that almost $200,000 had been collected at the events. Miner's help in getting those funds was incalculable, Furrie, Fitzpatrick and others said.
That is quite a legacy for Miner and the rest of the local chapter's members.
With an acre of wetland restoration pegged by DU at about $250, that local chapter's total funds raised accounts for about 800 acres preserved for ducks and other wildlife, Fitzpatrick said.
Scott Pashke, the current regional representative of DU, and Michael Brumley, a former representative, both spoke highly of Miner and what he meant to the group.
"We are 100 percent a volunteer organization and to lose a member is horrible, but nothing compared to what his family is going through," Pashke said.
Conservation was important
"He was a good, solid committeeman for the Columbiana County Chapter," said Brumley. "You could always count on him to do a good job. Conservation was pretty important to him."
Miner's family -- his parents, of Columbiana, his wife Cynthia, two daughters, Marisa and Savannah, son, Cory, his brother John as well as his other relatives -- should be proud of the things he accomplished during his 39 years.
Miner was also active in other areas, as well including spending time coaching eighth-grade basketball for the United Schools.
He had been a seasonal worker at the Highlandtown Wildlife Area in Columbiana County for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, and also had worked for the Stark County Parks District, The Home Depot and most recently for Direct Action Company.
Those who attended services said and his burial was marked by a brief but telling event. The day of the burial was rainy and overcast but just as he was being buried, the clouds parted, the sun shone through and a rainbow made a brief appearance. Those in attendance took that as a sign from the local man that he was in good hands.
braun@vindy.com