Issues That Matter
Our hard-working Pennsylvania Legislature concentrates on the issues that matter to its citizens. PA retains the Federal Minimum Wage of $7.25 per hour even though all surrounding states (even West Virginia) set it at $10 or more. In fact, only nineteen other states (and none in the Northeast) pay minimum wage workers less than $300 (before taxes) per 40 hour week. With the average apartment rental at more than $1,000 per month, there’s not much left over for niceties like food, electricity, and running water.
“The Issue That Matters” to our Legislators is when to start Deer Season. They have debated this for two weeks. Traditionally, Deer Season begins on the Monday after Thanksgiving. That’s the rationale for the five day holiday weekend that PA school kids enjoy. School staff and teachers prefer stealthily wandering Penn’s Woods in search of the elusive whitetail instead of transmitting knowledge to the next generation.
Actually, a decent percentage of the nearly 2 million PA hunters head out to the woods early, patronizing lodgings and taverns in the hinterlands. Those rural hosts make a ton of money over Thanksgiving Weekend.
Last year, the Legislature decided to start Deer Season on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Pennsylvanians who couldn’t get Monday off from work could get first shot at Bambi on Saturday Schools still remained closed the following Monday though. As a result, rural campgrounds and taverns were empty. “I’ll just drive up to the Poconos, get my deer, and head back the same day.” Legislators’ pockets were also empty. “I can’t afford to send you a campaign contribution since you shut down the biggest revenue weekend of my year.”
Stay tuned for the result.
How big a deal is Deer Season in Pennsylvania? Last year, hunters “harvested” (the preferred term) an estimated 376,810 white-tailed deer. Hunters had about a 1 in 5 chance of “bagging” (the term they use) a deer. You wander in the cold November woods at dawn for a 20% chance to shoot an animal that you then have to gut in place, and drag out of those woods. Imagine 376,810 piles of steaming deer intestines scattered about. Nearly 2 million brave hunters look forward to that prospect each year.
The statewide buck “harvest” was 145,320 and the antlerless “harvest” was 231,490. Among antlerless deer “harvested”, 69 percent were adult females, 16% button bucks (one year old) and 15% doe fawns. Since mating season is October, nearly all the females would be pregnant.
Bear in mind that the 60,000 or so button bucks and doe fawns who would not see their second birthday are roughly the size of a Great Dane. My Junior High School Swim Team practiced in the Scranton YMCA pool. The Village People were correct. It was fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A. Dirty Old Men would swim nude in the pool and ogle us as we entered. There was no Holiday Inn or Marriott in Scranton in those days. The cheapest lodging for single men was the YMCA. Out of state hunters took advantage of that. I remember seeing fawn carcasses tied to the fender of cars parked on North Washington Avenue. I promised myself that I would never do that to another living being.
I did enjoy the extra day off after Thanksgiving though.
By Ed Dufton
