The Vernon County Law Enforcement Association held their 54th annual Hunter Safety Rifle Match at th Westby Rod & Gun Club on Saturday, May 6. The match features .22 caliber rifle shooting for ages 10-15 who have completed hunter safety with a Vernon County instructor or are a resident of Vernon County. Trophies, medals, and door prizes were provided by the association and numerous sponsors. The event also features hamburgers and hot dogs prepared by area law enforcement, Vernon County Sheriff Roy Torgerson and his staff.
Sheriff Torgerson said the event is a chance to promote gun safety, but also a chance for law enforcement officers from throughout the county to interact with area youth.“Well,” Torgerson said. “I tell you what, what a great way to promote safety. You know we live in a rural area where there is a lot of hunting and we want to promote safety, and its just a good way for our officers to interact with the kids and make a positive impression on them but to really really promote safety. I’m sure in just the short time you have been down here you have probably heard our relay officers and they are preaching safety, safety, safety. Because you don’t get a retake if you make a mistake with a firearm. So we just really promote safety, that’s the name of the game here. It’s the camaraderie. It’s the interacting with the kids. Having a good talk with them and letting our law enforcement community have that positive interaction. We don’t always to be there when there is a problem. We want to be proactive and get on the offensive.”
Torgerson said they also focus on making sure everyone who attends goes home with something.
“Just a lot of great people that have made this happen,” Torgerson said. “And its all about the volunteers that keeps this going every year. We just couldn’t do it without a lot of people stepping up. Its a lot of planning that goes into the event. The community donations this year, with obvious inflation and rising costs, and out community was really really good to us this year. We are going to be able to put on a wonderful event for the kids. For a dollar to register every participant is going to walk out of here with some kind of door prize. So they are not going to leave here empty handed.”
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