web1_Kindret.jpg

Jen Kindret ready to build legacy as first head coach of King’s College women’s ice hockey program

web1_TTL032416Penguins1.jpg

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins re-sign forward Jarrett Burton to an AHL deal

<p>State Rep. Jerry Mullery is wondering if Luzerne County is having a repeat of 2014 when a lapse cost some hunters their antlerless hunting license.</p><p>Mullery said he&#8217;s received complaints from numerous hunters who sent their antlerless license applications to Luzerne County. While some hunters have received their antlerless licenses from the county, others have told Mullery it&#8217;s taken longer than usual.</p><p>And then there are those who face an even longer wait.</p><p>&#8220;Folks who sent in for round two, did it on time and listed three Wildlife Management Units received a form letter stating all three units were sold out,&#8221; Mullery said last week. &#8220;It&#8217;s unfortunate, but I&#8217;m not surprised. It&#8217;s ongoing frustration.&#8221;</p><p>But Dave Parsnik, head of the county&#8217;s administrative services division, said everything is fine and there are no issues.</p><p>In 2014, the county failed to process antlerless license applications on time and some hunters didn&#8217;t receive a license before they were sold out. Parsnik said he is well aware of the incident, and stressed that history isn&#8217;t repeating itself this year.</p><p>&#8220;We weren&#8217;t behind and there were no delays. We processed them the same day until they were sold out,&#8221; Parsnik said, adding those hunters who didn&#8217;t receive a license in the second round must have sent the applications in late.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s their fault. Not ours,&#8221; Parsnik said.</p><p>Ashley resident Wayne Grilz said he sent his second round antlerless license application to the county three days before county treasurers began accepting them on Aug. 1 and more than a week later received a form letter stating the licenses were already sold out in all three units (WMUs 4E, 3D and 3B) for which he applied. Hunters list three units on their application, in preference, in case one of the others is sold out.</p><p>Grilz said he knows of 14 other hunters who received the same denial letter for the three units they applied for, but he spoke with other people who sent their application to a different county and got a license.</p><p>&#8220;There were more than 6,000 licenses left in the three units I applied for, and they all sold out in 24 hours?&#8221; Grilz said. &#8220;It really discourages a lot of hunters who put a lot of time and money into the sport.&#8221;</p><p>According to Parsnik, the county processed every application it received in the first round - more than 11,200, which topped last year&#8217;s first round total of 10,500. In the second round the applications were processed the same day they were received until allocations for the management units were sold out, Parsnik said.</p><p>Still, Mullery said the concerns from hunters are further proof why the Legislature needs to pass his bill to allow hunters to apply for the licenses through the Pennsylvania Game Commission&#8217;s online system.</p><p>House Bill 231 has languished on the House floor for months without coming up for a vote. The County Treasurers&#8217; Association of Pennsylvania opposed the bill because it could result in lost revenue. Counties currently receive $1 for every application that is processed.</p><p>Mullery said he&#8217;s willing to add an amendment to his bill that would still direct the $1 per license back to the counties based on the residency of the applicant, regardless of where they purchase an antlerless license.</p><p>&#8220;The fact that we have the mechanism and technology to do this online, and we don&#8217;t, befuddles me,&#8221; Mullery said. &#8220;I encourage hunters to reach out to their elected officials and tell them this bill should be put on the calender for a third and final vote.&#8221;</p><p>If the bill is passed in the House, it would be up to the Senate to add any amendments and pass it again, at which point the House could vote to concur with the amendments and send the legislation to the governor.</p><p>Parsnik said he understands there are some counties that may depend on the antlerless license revenue, but he&#8217;s in favor of handing the process over to the PGC&#8217;s online system.</p><p>&#8220;All we do is get beat up over it. If the PGC wants to take it over, I&#8217;m more than happy to let them,&#8221; Parsnik said. &#8220;I budget $6,000 a year to process the applications. We don&#8217;t rely on the revenue to make or break the budget.&#8221;</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/2016/08/web1_web1_Doe_11-1.jpeg">
<div class="neCaption">A female whitetail deer at F.E. Walter Dam in Luzerne County. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_web1_Doe_11-1.jpeg</photo0><caption0>A female whitetail deer at F.E. Walter Dam in Luzerne County. </caption0><photoCredit0>Don Carey | Times Leader file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Despite complaints, Luzerne County official says there&#8217;s been no delays in processing antlerless license applications</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Luzerne County, hunters dispute processing of doe hunting licenses