web1_star-wars-bey-dameron.jpg

Meet some of the new characters in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” with this abridged version of 30 years of Star Wars history

web1_powell.jpg

Powell settlement approved in Kids for Cash case

<p>LEHMAN &#8212; As rifle season drew to a close, so did 13-year-old hunter Matt Saxe&#8217;s opportunity to down his first buck. The Sweet Valley native attempted to fill his tag on outings near his grandfather&#8217;s home in Ricketts Glen, but those excursions proved unsuccessful. When the sun rose on the final morning of the season it found Matt in different woods with a different group of hunters. They were experienced and Matt hoped that would tip the odds in his favor.</p><p>&#8220;My dad isn&#8217;t really a hunter,&#8221; Matt said. &#8220;He&#8217;s willing to go with me and take as much time as possible away from his life to help me out, but these guys are really experienced and they know a lot about it. I&#8217;m hoping to get a buck; at least a six-point.&#8221;</p><p>On Dec. 12, Matt accompanied Chip Sorber, 66, and his brothers, Jack, 69, and Ron, 65, to a farm on Lehman Outlet Road. Chip, an avid outdoorsman and retired Lake Lehman High School history teacher, met Matt in November while hunting turkey. Chip is president of the local chapter of Quality Deer Management, a non-profit group that improves and sustains deer habitats, populations and culture of deer hunters. QDM pursues the latter by hosting educational experiences for young hunters like Matt.</p><p>&#8220;Kids don&#8217;t usually like to come to meetings, so we do summer camps for them,&#8221; Chip said. &#8220;We did a three-day camp this summer to get youth involved. In Matt&#8217;s case, his dad doesn&#8217;t hunt so for somebody like him we get them involved.&#8221;</p><p>Matt discovered hunting when he was 11. He tried it when he was 12, but the only thing he got that year was his license. Matt claimed his first kills this year in the form of pheasants and squirrels.</p><p>That December morning, Matt entered the woods not with a hunting group but with a hunting team.</p><p>&#8220;We drive deer constantly,&#8221; Chip said. &#8220;We&#8217;re not sitters. Matt and I will sit for a half hour or 45 minutes while the guys are driving and then we&#8217;ll go somewhere else. Our hunting is a team effort. It&#8217;s not really a competitive thing.&#8221;</p><p>The first drive of the day started shortly after sun-up. Chip and Matt took up a shooting position on the right side of what Chip described as a small cliff behind Lehman resident Richard Sutton&#8217;s farm. The other members of the group positioned themselves opposite the stationary hunters. As the deer drivers began walking to Chip and Matt&#8217;s position, they walked on the assumptions there were deer in the area and those deer would move in the direction the group wanted them.</p><p>There were. They did.</p><p>Through his rifle&#8217;s scope, Matt spotted a small herd on the cliff face. The deer idled for an extended period of time, but Matt was unable to tell buck from doe because of the trees that separated him from the animals. Matt turned his attention away from the herd and began scanning the woods again. It wasn&#8217;t long after his initial sighting that diligence paid off.</p><p>&#8220;There are two about 50 yards in front of us,&#8221; Matt said before he pulled the scope on his Savage Axis 243 rifle to his eye.</p><p>Chip, who was delivering a lesson about the importance of using calls and scent, fell silent.</p><p>&#8220;You can take the shot if you have it,&#8221; he told Matt calmly.</p><p>Matt steadied his rifle and looked for a clear shot through the dense growth of trees, but was unable to pull his rifle&#8217;s trigger before the four-point buck and its companion made their way up and over the same cliff face that provided a convenient exit for the first deer.</p><p>After the buck&#8217;s departure, the group reconvened and made their way out of the woods and formulated a new plan of attack. It took approximately five minutes to walk back from the spot Chip chose, but the newest member of his team was still on edge as the hunters reached the end of the path.</p><p>&#8220;I saw two bucks in front of me and I just started shaking,&#8221; Matt said. &#8220;First I thought it was just a doe, but then I looked through my scope and I could see his antlers and thought, &#8216;whoa.&#8217;&#8221;</p><p>Matt was unable to turn his latest buck sighting into a kill, so he and Chip hopped into the back of fellow hunter Jack Davis&#8217; truck and took position on a steep trail near a heavily used deer crossing. The drivers hoped to push the deer who crossed over the cliff face toward Chip and Matt&#8217;s new location, but another hunter in the area took a shot not long after the team began its second drive. After that drive yielded no sightings, the two returned to their first location and took up higher ground. Their new position offered Matt a better shooting angle, but he didn&#8217;t get the chance to use it.</p><p>After the planning and execution of three drives, the hunters were nearing Matt&#8217;s curfew of 8:30 a.m. The 8th grader had a basketball game to play, so the team retired to Chip&#8217;s front yard. The experienced hunters shook Matt&#8217;s hand, complimented his methods and assured him that his first buck is closer than it seems.</p><p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t get my first buck until I was 14, so for you that would be next year,&#8221; Chip said as he and Matt walked back to his truck.</p><p>Chip gave Matt a QDM vest, hat and &#8220;Rack Pack&#8221; shirt, officially recognizing him as one of the organization&#8217;s youth hunters. Besides the new clothes, Matt received experience he can call upon the next time he&#8217;s pursuing game.</p><p>Matt must wait another year before he can claim his first buck, but he doesn&#8217;t have a one-track mind when it comes to hunting.</p><p>&#8220;Getting a buck would&#8217;ve helped a lot, but I just love all of it; being in the outdoors, seeing different animals and just sitting out there,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Hunting1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Matt Saxe, 13, hunts with Chip Sorber during the early morning hours of Dec. 12. Sorber provided a structured, hands-on experience for young people wanting to learn how to hunt safely. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Hunting1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Matt Saxe, 13, hunts with Chip Sorber during the early morning hours of Dec. 12. Sorber provided a structured, hands-on experience for young people wanting to learn how to hunt safely. </caption0><photoCredit0>Charlotte Bartizek | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Hunting3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Matt Saxe, 13, walks with Chip Sorber through woods in Lehman during the early morning hours of Dec. 12. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Hunting3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Matt Saxe, 13, walks with Chip Sorber through woods in Lehman during the early morning hours of Dec. 12. </caption1><photoCredit1>Charlotte Bartizek | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Hunting4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Matt Saxe, 13, listens to experienced hunter, Chip Sorber, during the early morning hours of Dec. 12. Sorber escorts young hunters through a safe hunting trip with hands-on guidance. Sorber hopes to perpetuate the hunting community. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Hunting4.jpg</photo2><caption2>Matt Saxe, 13, listens to experienced hunter, Chip Sorber, during the early morning hours of Dec. 12. Sorber escorts young hunters through a safe hunting trip with hands-on guidance. Sorber hopes to perpetuate the hunting community. </caption2><photoCredit2>Charlotte Bartizek | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Second-year hunter Matt Saxe spends last morning of rifle season with experienced local outdoorsmen</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Gene Axton</p><p>gaxton@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Gene Axton at 570-991-6121 or on Twitter @TLArts</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Sweet Valley teen goes after first buck with Quality Deer Management President Chip Sorber