News Around The Club

Pistol News
Next month it’s March and what happens in March — St. Paddy’s Day of course on the 17th. We’ll be celebrating with an Irish themed pistol shoot on Sunday, March 15th starting at 11:00 AM. What type of shoot will this be? Think Green, think Shamrocks, think Pot o’ Gold, think reactive targets that break, splatter, spray, etc.

Cowboy News
Our intrepid of Cowboy Action Shooters are heading off to warmer climes for National and Regional shoots. The next cowboy shoot is anticipated to be held in April.

Skeet/Trap News
The Trap Committee, Tom Lesko, George O’Brien, Marco Capobianco, and Pat Feely gave a presentaion on the state of the trap machine. The existing machine was purchased many years ago and has deteriorated into an unreliable state. The machine requires significant and frequent repair and maintenance. Trap members cannot keep up with the required maintenance. The building has been extensively repaired, and modified to better protect it from the elements. Waterproofing, brick re-pointing, installation of multiple pumps with battery back-up, heat-tape on pump outlet pipes, etc. have all been performed. While the building will likely never be completely water-tight, the trap committee believes that the work performed should mitigate any significant water penetration that could damage the machine in a material way.

Trap Committee requested an allocation of $3,900 for a new MEC machine. Tom Lesko and team did research and believes the MEC machine is best value for the money. Furthermore, there is a local rep who will help with service. Apparently thee machines can be fixed if submerged in water for roughly $300 in the unlikely case that the trap house does flood. Apparently the new machine has a high percentage of stainless steel parts, which should be beneficial in the battle against the elements.

There was a quorum of the E-Board in attendance and a vote on allocation of funds was called for and voted in the affirmative by a majority of E-Board members.

The new trap machine will be purchased and installed ASAP

New Members
Welcome Aboard to new members Wally Young and Ryan Staszko.

Quote of the Month
“The right of citizens to bear arms is just one more guarantee against arbitrary government, one more safeguard against tyranny, which though now appears remote in America, history has proven to be always possible.”
— Senator Hubert H. Humphrey

Freedom Of The Press — It’s NOT What You Think
This article was published by Townhall.com on 1/31/20 and was written by Barney Brenner.

For many decades of our modern era, it’s been an article of faith that our Founders enshrined the profession of journalism into the “freedom of the press” clause of the Bill of Rights. That understanding is wrong.

It’s clear from the dictionaries of the day, as well as the writings of the Founders and other authors of the era, that what this First Amendment freedom refers to is the printing press, the device which made the wide dissemination of written speech possible, and which was the target of censorship and confiscation efforts by British authorities, both before and after the signing of our Declaration of Independence. Nowhere were journalists denoted. That meaning slipped into the language only well into the 19th century, decades after the Bill of Rights was written, and never as a primary definition.

Samuel Johnson, who many consider the most distinguished man of letters in English history, authored what would be for well over a century the authoritative English lexicon. The first edition of his classic A Dictionary of the English Language, printed in 1755, shows the pertinent definitions for the noun “press” as 1. The instrument by which any thing is crushed or squeezed. 2. The instrument by which books are printed [italics added]. The sixth edition, published in 1785 and in use during the formation of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, adds wine and cider presses. No mention of journalists or newsmen.

The Oxford English Dictionary, first published late in the 19th century, cites the first reference of “press” to journalists and newspaper reporters collectively as not occurring until 1868.

James Madison, the author of the Bill of Rights, wrote in his Report on the Virginia Resolutions that “… no persons or presses are in the habit of more unrestrained animadversions on the proceedings and functionaries of the State governments than the persons and presses most zealous in vindicating the act of Congress …” [italics added] Madison, as well as all the founders, understood “press” or “presses” as machines, not as a profession, institution or industry.  Read complete article

And Finally

General Meetings

Monday, March  02 – 8:00 PM.

Monday, April 06 – 8:00 PM.

Pistol Shoot

Sunday, March 15 – 11:00 AM until 4:00 PM

Skeet

Sundays, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM.

Wednesdays, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM.

Trap

Saturdays, 10:00 AM.

Safety Course

Tuesday, March 03 – 7:00 PM & Thursday, March 05 – 7:00 PM.

Tuesday, April 07 – 7:00 PM & Thursday, April 09 – 7:00 PM.

50 Yard Range Orientation Class

Sunday, March 08 – 9:00 AM. Register here.

Sunday, April 12– 9:00 AM. Register here.