Joe Manchin III, Governor

Frank Jezioro, Director

Hoy Murphy, Public Information Officer (304) 558-3381 hoymurphy@wvdnr.gov

Contact: Scott Warner, Wildlife Resources Section (304) 558-2771 wildlife@wvdnr.gov

Archery in the Schools Program Training to be held November 28-29

The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Section will host its next training for the West Virginia Archery in the Schools Program at the new conference center at Chief Logan State Park on November 28 - 29, 2006 , according to Scott Warner , Program Coordinator.

     “From the beginning, there has been a tremendous amount of interest from schools located in southern West Virginia to participate in this program,” Warner said. “In fact, because of the interest, this will be the second time in less than a year that we’ll be hosting a training session in Logan County . A lot of credit needs to be given to the local school officials for their interest in allowing us to bring this program to southern West Virginia .”

DNR personnel implemented this program in the fall of 2004 in 19 schools as part of its pilot program to introduce physical education students to an activity that teaches a life skill. In two years there has been a phenomenal amount of interest with the program growing to 100 schools. Because of the success of this program the DNR was able to host its first State Archery tournament last spring at Capital High School in Charleston . Nearly 300 students from 23 schools from every region of the state participated in the tournament.

DNR officials encourage all schools, especially the ones that are not part of the program, to receive the free training. Teachers interested in attending the training at Chief Logan State Park have until November 10 to sign up. However, due to the type of training and amount of time needed for hands-on-instructions, classroom size will be limited. Teachers interested in attending this training are encouraged to contact the DNR early. Classes typically fill up within a couple weeks.

   For additional information on the West Virginia Archery in the Schools Program or to attend training, visit the DNR Web site at www.wvdnr.gov or call (304) 558-2771.