Youths have Pheasants Forever field day fun
Skills include first aid, trap and black powder shootingBy HANS MADSEN, Messenger staff writer
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WEBSTER COUNTY - Colby Miller, 12, of Livermore was flat on his back moaning and groaning in horrible pain from a broken leg and several ribs with the same injury after he fell out of a tree stand.
Nearby, Trinity Regional Medical Center EMT John Copper, standing behind an ambulance loaded with state-of-the-art medical equipment and supplies, was ignoring both the equipment and Miller. Instead, he was encouraging a group of youths to splint up the leg with a fishing pole and some string made from torn shirts before having them construct a stretcher from two poles and their sweat shirts.
OK, so Miller was just pretending, but there is nothing fake about what Copper was doing as he taught some first aid techniques at the annual Webster County Pheasants Forever Youth Field Day at the Stanek farm south of Fort Dodge.
First aid techniques that may save a life in the wilderness when an ambulance is miles away over rough terrain. In such a situation all one may have to work with are things as shoe laces, belts, shirts, duct tape and anything else that might found in the field or the trunk of a car.
The youths came up with the injury scenario. Then Copper helped them figure out how to apply first aid.
''They've come up with some great injuries,'' he said. ''When I mention falling out of a tree stand, they mention falling off of a cliff.''
Copper took his inspiration from his old Boy Scout manual, which includes several sections on taking care of injuries in the wilderness.
''It's very Boy Scout like,'' he said.
Copper's learning station was new to the event this year as was a station on dog obedience. The nearly 50 youths who took part also had plenty of other things to learn and experience. Waterfowl/goose hunting, bowhunting, trapping, turkey hunting, bird cleaning, trap shooting, black-powder shooting and a live pheasant hunt in a nearby field were among the dozen activities.
All the stations were manned by volunteers from local sportsmen associations and individuals helping the Webster County Chapter put the day on. Local businesses, the Webster County Chapter and the Iowa DNR helped out with door prizes. The Stanek family loaned the use of their farm.
According to Rick Hockel and Gregg Warland, co-chairs of the committee that organized the event, the Youth Field Day meshes very nicely with a program the national organization launched this summer, ''No Kid Left Indoors,'' which encourages youths to get outside and enjoy the many activities the outdoors have to offer.
''It's all hands-on,'' Warland said. ''letting them know there's other things to do besides video games and TV.''
Jacob Debaun, 11, of Callender, was attending the event for the first time this year. He got to learn the proper way to get out of a goose blind.
''You just pop out,'' he said.
He also tried his hand at trap shooting.
''I got three out of four,'' he said.
Amanda Proust, 12, of Lehigh, attended the event last year and came back for another turn through the learning stations again this year. She said she enjoys the outdoors and cited a yearly family fishing trip to Canada as one of the highlights. She added that she also enjoys watching animals in their natural environment.
She got to help clean a pheasant this year and worked with Copper on the first aid, dealing with a broken arm without the modern gear in the ambulance.
''We used sticks, rope a sweatshirt and a blanket,'' she said.
Contact Hans Madsen at (515) 573-2141 or hmadsen@messengernews.net
