Going Hunting in Arkansas? Check For Road Closings and Detours First
September 11, 2008
LITTLE ROCK – Gustav is gone, the rains have abated, hunting seasons are underway – and Arkansas sportsmen are on the move.
Save yourself a possible headache and check road conditions before you leave home, suggests the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Hunters and fishermen often travel across the state or just a few miles from home to participate in their activities. The travel may be on interstates, on two-lane paved highways or on graveled back roads. The torrential rains from Hurricane Gustav left roads in the state flooded in many places and washed out in a few spots.
An example is Arkansas Highway 7 between Russellville and Harrison. This is a major route for hunters and recreationists headed to the Buffalo River country. The highway is closed just south of Pelsor in extreme northern Pope County, and major repairs are underway. Detours are lengthy.
If you are traveling, a starting point for road conditions can be the Internet. Go to http://www.arkansashighways.com/Roads/roads.htm
. Click on “road closings.” This is a web site of the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department, and it gives current closings of federal and state highways in Arkansas.
But it doesn’t list county roads or national forest roads or other remote routes that sportsmen may use.
For these, a phone call can help. If you don’t know a person living in the area, try the county road department of the county where you’re headed. Can’t find a phone listing? Try the county judge’s office. You’ll get the right number and maybe the information you need there.
Once you are off the main highway and in the back country, slow down and watch for potential problems. A washed away culvert could leave an unpaved road impassable.
Remember too that repairs on Arkansas’s damaged roads are on a priority system. The heaviest traveled roads get the first attention from work crews, and it may be a while before that particular back road you are traveling will have its damage taken care of.
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Arkansas Youth Shooting Sports Program State Championship is June 7
June 4, 2008
LITTLE ROCK – In sports there’s a saying about a lull in the second year of an athlete’s career being known as the “sophomore slump.” For the Arkansas Youth Shooting Sports Program, that saying couldn’t be further from the truth.
After its initial year in 2007, where over 900 youth participated in the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission program, the program picked up more steam this year with over 2,400 kids participating. Statewide competition winds down this weekend with 160 kids competing in Arkansas’s second state championship. The championship culminates a full year of competitive shooting around the state and will be held June 7 at the Remington Arms Gun Club in Lonoke. Youths will be competing in junior and senior divisions for the state title.
Competition gets underway on Saturday at 9 a.m. The gun club is located just off Interstate 40 at Exit 169. Turn south onto Arkansas Highway 15 and the facility is located just south of the Remington plant on the west side of the road.
The program is aimed at teaching Arkansas’s youth how to safely handle a firearm. Young hunters have sharpened their skills and children who have no desire to pursue ducks, doves or other game still get to enjoy the challenge of shooting clay targets as they streak away.
The program teaches safe gun-handling skills to children who may never take a hunter’s education course and gives children from all backgrounds the chance to learn how much fun waits for them beyond the video screen.
Through this competitive trap-shooting league, high-school-aged children have experienced the excitement of real-world shooting without the need for expensive leases or equipment.
For more information on the Arkansas Youth Shooting Sports Program, contact program coordinator Chuck Woodson, (501) 978-7326 or visitwww.agfc.com/education-class/programs/ayssp.aspx.
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