Dec 22, 2018 5 min read

It’s been some time since I heard the words” find a gun, don’t touch, leave the area and tell a responsible adult.” Those are code words for the National Rifle Association’s Eddie Eagle Program. I recently heard about someone teaching this valuable program again. My good friend Ben Williams and I had the privilege of presenting the Eddie Eagle message to various schools in the area without either praising or condemning the NRA. We were there in the elementary schools to teach kids not to pick up or handle guns that they may happen upon. At that time Ben and I taught gun safety as others would teach swimming or driving safety.

It seems to this old hunter and target shooter safety issues reach farther than they did back then. Safety must always be paramount when considering the lives of the young. Today the issues aren’t just the issues of yesterday but now it is also the invasion from outside the school that has become an issue. Parents fear sending their offspring off to school and even teachers are a bit nervous.

Many schools have tried and are trying to come up with a method of keeping un-invited persons out of the classrooms entrance but most ideas are either too slow or too iffy to be put into use. Any method of locking the door from the inside must also be quickly and easily unlocked for evacuation. Even yours truly has pondered on ways to lock classroom doors. It’s not too easy to come up with a method of quickly locking a door that is sure and dependable.

Recently an ex-school teacher at Woodland Hills who also works in security came up with a lock that works. Bob Ploskunak has invented the Jamblock a lightweight piece of steel that can easily and quickly be installed and un- installed in all door types. It has come to my attention that Ringgold School District has installed this device in all their buildings. At first it seems they installed it in one building but couldn’t afford to put it in the secondary and elementary school buildings. Seeing a need and being active partners in this school district The Valley Inn Sportsmen’s Club stepped forward and bought the Jamblocks for these buildings. Their president Rusty Polonoly brought the idea to the membership and this very active sports club wrote a check for $28,984 for the purchase of 245 Jamblocks. Now every classroom in the district is equipped with the Jamblock device. How extraordinary!

This work done by a relatively small organization is such a good example of how a relatively small organization can do a large amount of good for their community. I realize that similar stories could be out there in many small towns and for many causes but the Valley Inn Sportsmen’s Club should hold their heads high for the job they have done for nothing more than they saw a need.

Now back to that Eddie Eagle Program. I started this article off that way because that is how I found out about this great story. I was telling a friend of mine who was lounging on my couch about that program as we compared stories from hunting this season. That’s when he told me that his club the Valley Inn Sportsmen’s Club still teaches this valuable program. Their club has a designated member who is responsible for the coordination including grant writing, sponsorship and collaboration with the National Rifle Association Eddie Eagle Program. So the Eddie Eagle Program is still alive and well in our area. I was happy to hear that. The mission of the Eddie Eagle Program now is to help local organizations such as the Valley Inn Sportsmen’s Club to teach students in Pre-K through 4th grade what to do if they ever come across a gun. The Valley Inn Sportsmen’s Club was started in 1969 and does quite a few good things in the community. They hold an annual fishing derby each spring and they will stock Pigeon Creek in Carroll Township and Monongahela.with trout again this year. Many of the stocked trout will have prize tags and they will sell buttons for 5$ that say “I helped stock Pigeon Creek” to raise money for future stocking. They also hold a nationally recognized firearms training NRA Women on Target. A thank you to my friend Dale Robison for sharing this story with me.

All too often the partnership of sharing of land in a certain area is only talked about when there is a conflict between the club and some other party. The complaint may be false or even pre-fabricated but it still exists. Wouldn’t it be better if the two worked together to make the district better?

Congratulations to Ken Patterson of Buffalo Township for his huge 16 point buck he downed in Illinois. When the 60 day waiting period is over I’ll measure it and see how it scores a couple of us are thinking around the 200 inch mark in the non-typical category.