Friday, July 11, 2008
New recruits help boost conservation police force
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.
Recent columns
A wave of new Virginia conservation police officers is hitting Virginia's woods and waters.
Nineteen new officers were recently sworn into service after completing the 28-week-long training course at the agency's Basic Law Enforcement Academy.
The new graduates help bolster a force that has been running short-handed in recent years due to attrition and retirements.
With the addition of the new officers the force now totals 166.
The agency is authorized to employ 182 officers and hopes to reach that goal after the next academy, which starts in December.
A number of the recruits have been assigned to counties in Western Virginia.
William C. Barnhart, Eric D. Dotterer Jr. and Joseph P. Williams have been assigned to Franklin County.
Tony A. McFaddin Jr. has been assigned to Botetourt County, while Eric E. Plaster will work in the Roanoke County area.
Nicholas S. Farmer will work in Henry County. Beth J. Harold, one of two women in the class, has been assigned to Highland County. Chase Meredith will work in the Patrick County area.
At the graduation ceremony, McFaddin was awarded with the Top Shot Award for having the highest overall qualifications on all firearms courses. Meredith, a Giles High School graduate, earned the Outstanding Boating Award.
Farmer, a graduate of Abingdon High School and a Virginia National Guardsman who has served in Iraq, earned the Board Award for overall performance during the academy.
The new officers will continue on-the-job training under the supervision of field training officers.
Outdoors shows on the horizon
Promoters of a pair of outdoor shows have announced some of the stars they hope will lure sportsmen to the events next month.
Outdoor writer and TV personality Larry Weishun will be the headliner at the Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The show will be Aug. 8-10 at the Showplace in Mechanicsville.
The show will also feature the annual Virginia Deer Classic big buck contest and an open turkey calling contest. More details are available at sportsmanshow.com.
Drury Outdoors personalities Eric Hale, Chris Ward and John O'Dell are among those who'll be holding seminars at the Virginia Outdoor Sportsmen's Classic, which returns to Roanoke Valley for the second year.
The show will be Aug. 22-24 at the Salem Civic Center.
Other speakers on the schedule include coyote-hunting guru Tom Bechdel, fishing guide Teddy Carr and Fincastle author Bruce Ingram. More information on the show is available at vaoutdoorsportsmensclassic.com.
--Mark Taylor
