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If early reports to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries are believed, the state’s new mandatory blaze orange law is saving lives. Although this big game hunting season has not been entirely fotility-free, casualties are down compared to recent years.
During the first three weeks of firearms deer season, the Virginia Game Commission had reports of 24 accidents involving firearms, with four fatalities. During the same period in 1986, game wardens reported 88 hunting accidents with seven natalities.
Of the four fatal accidents so for this year, the commission said, only two were caused by hunters being mistaken for game. Neither victim, a commission spokesman stressed, was wearing Maze orange when he was shot.
In the other two fatalities, one oceured when a hunter was shot by someone else shooting at a turkey while he was in the line of fire, and the fourth was self-inflicted when the hunter fell out of a tree.
In the non-fotal accidents, 19 of the 20 did not involve hunters being mistaken for game. In that one remaining case, the victim again was not wearing blaze orange when he was shot.
By comparison, in 1986, six of the year’s seven fatalities resulted when the victim was mistaken for game. An additional eight non-fatal accidents had the same cause. None of the victims of the fatal shootings was wearing blaze orange. Three of the eight non-fatal shooting victims were wearing blaze orange; however, one accident occurred after dark and in the other two cases the victim was in heavy cover when shot.
Overall, the commission is reporting a 37 percent decrease in the total number of firearms-related hunting accidents during the fust three weeks of firearms deer season. In the category "mistaken for game,” accidents are down by 79 percent and fatalities have decreased by 67 percent.
Baker named
administrator
William D. Doeller, president of the Fauquier Hospital board of trustees, has announced the appointment of Rodger H. Baker as administrator of the hospital.
Mr. Baker has served Fauquier Hospital during the precedingten yeare jM assistant administrator.':* ;
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