Letters

Submissions reflect readers’ opinions and might be edited for length and clarity.

After the Storm

Your article on the Joplin tornado recovery with the trees was awesome [May; Page 16]. I’m from Webb City, just 10 minutes or less from Joplin. I will never forget what I saw on the news and in the newspapers, but now that we have trees and people who care about Joplin so much we will grow stronger. Thank you to all who helped plant the trees and those who donated them.

Jerome Henderson, Webb City

Clark Co. Memories

My family has lived on a 160-acre farm in Clark County for the past 40 years. Our two sons were raised in the barn lots, cornfield, timber, and stream. A sure sign of spring was when someone asked, ”When can we go mushroom hunting?”

In the beginning, we traveled at the pace of preschoolers, but then they were leaving us grown-ups behind. With their dad at work, the boys and I spent hours in the timber checking out the bugs and worms, a nest of young rabbits, the bright green tree frogs singing so loud for their size. Sliding down a steep embankment to the bed of a washed out ravine, we filled our pockets with pretty rocks, searching for an arrowhead, or piece of artifact then roaming our way to the Little Fox River to cool off.

Fishing in farm ponds was a year-round activity for us, and we all loved bass, crappie, and channel cat. My father retired the same year our first son was born, this meant that grandma and grandpa were at their disposal to go hunt­ing, fishing, camping, and whatever the season allowed. Grandpa’s favorite thing to do was to camp along the Fox River and put out bank lines to run every couple of hours all night.

Fall was hunting season, a time for deer and a time for turkeys. All of our families lived on venison all winter, as long as it lasted.

I could go on with my reminiscing, but I’ll let you pick it up from here. Walk a grassy lane, look close and see the animal tracks, butterflies, and any number of things. Fill your diary with your story, and count your blessings.

Sherry A. Dalton, Luray

Clarifications

A line in our Missouri River Restoration article read: “Ultimately, the Corps built, and still maintains, a self-scouring, 9-foot-deep, 300-foot-wide, 2,321-mile-long navigation channel....” We regret the error. The length of the Missouri River is currently reported at about 2,321 miles from its source to its confluence with the Mississippi River. A series of dams in the upper basin have impounded the river and shortened the navigation channel. The Missouri River navigation channel from its confluence with the Mississippi River to Sioux City, Iowa, extends to about 735 miles, depending upon where you stop measuring along Sioux City.

The following Facebook question appeared on our July “Letters” Page. The term “pole spearfishing” has caused some confusion, so we are running the question again with additional information to clarify our response:

Is pole spearfishing the only legal spearfishing method allowed in Missouri streams? I’ve been reading nongame regulations on the website and that’s what I thought, but I wanted to make sure.

Keith Jackson

Missouri Dept. of Conservation: If by “pole spearfishing,” you mean gigging, then, yes, you may use a gig or atlatl on Missouri streams and impound­ments between sunrise and midnight from Sept. 15 through Jan. 31, and on impounded waters between sunrise and sunset throughout the remainder of the year. However, if you are referring to underwater spearfishing, then, no, that method is only allowed for nongame fish in impounded waters or a temporary overflow of a river or ditch between sunrise and sunset throughout the year. See Page 10 of our Fishing Summary booklet at mdc.mo.gov/node/11414.

Reader Photo

Stop, Bat!

John Moeser, of Kelso, took this photo of an eastern red bat. “I was sitting in the backyard watching the bats with my son, when we decided to get the cam­era out and see if we could get any decent pictures,” said Moeser. “I just used some automatic settings at first, but all I got was a blurry mess.” He turned off the auto focus, because it was too slow, and turned on the flash to stop the action and get a good shot. “Then I just stood there as the bats flew around and tracked as best I could while firing off pictures,” said Moeser. Living on a farm provides Moeser and his family the opportunity to watch and photograph a variety of wildlife.