Hunting In The Center

Of Town

To the Editor:

Our family lives on Wendover Road, which is located one block from Main Street. From our kitchen window, Hawley School, Taylor Field, and the Nature Trail are clearly visible. Every weekend, we can see and hear the Pop Warner football game and the cheering crowd.

Unfortunately, this past Saturday morning, also in this idyllic setting were two hunters dressed in camouflage clothes, one carrying a knife and the other carrying a bow and arrow. When I asked what they were doing, one of the men said they were tracking a deer that a hunter in their group had wounded with an arrow. I immediately called the Newtown police to see if hunters, armed with weapons, were allowed in the center of town. After an officer came and spoke to the men, she informed me that the hunter lived on Wendover Road and he had constructed a hunting stand on his property.

I understand that property owners and hunters have rights, but does it make any sense to allow hunting on property that borders an active school recreation area? Every Saturday, while sporting events are being played at Taylor Field, bored children always explore the Nature Trail and woods behind Hawley School. Do we really need amateur hunters, launching deadly arrows, to be in this same narrow, wooded area?

As someone who has lived in Newtown for 17 years, I know that the deer can be a nuisance. It is my opinion though, that public safety and common sense should be behind our laws, especially in the busy center of town. Also, from a personal standpoint, the sight of a wounded deer on my lawn, slowly dying from a hunter’s arrow, is a disturbing sight I hope never to experience.

Thank you,

Susan Gugino

10 Wendover Road, Newtown                               November 14, 2006