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Show (f " V ... V J .7 " " I Chris Mathews, Henrieville, proudly displays this trophy buck he bagged on a recent special hunt at the Heaton Ranch in Alton in eary October. Mathews Bags Trophy Buck HENRIEVILLE Young Chris Mathews of Henrieville who was partly paralyzed in a shooting accident last Spring proudly displayed dis-played the trophy buck he bagged on a recent special hunt at the Heaton Hea-ton Ranch in Alton In early October. Octo-ber. Classmates in Chris' senior class at Bryce Valley High School helped to make the dream hunt possible, pos-sible, along with Heaton Ranch owners and guides. The Heaton Ranch had an open management tag for a buck mule deer. Traditionally, they" have made some of their management tags available to handicapped hunters. Through Kenny Pollock, who guides on the ranch, contact was made with Chris to see if he would be interested in using the tag. Since he had been a hunter prior to the accident, he eagerly accepted. Events were put into motion that led to him being able to go to Alton Al-ton on Oct. 12. The fee for the tag for the hunt would normally have been $130. The family had gone through many expenses in covering the medical costs of the accident and remodeling their home to be more wheelchair accessible. Therefore, the students and faculty of Bryce Valley High School decided they wanted to be a part of making Chris' dream become be-come a reality. They announced that on Oct. 3 they would pass around a blanket and anyone wishing wish-ing to help Chris could put what they wanted on the blanket. They also had a bottle in the school office of-fice for donations. They easily obtained ob-tained the necessary money for the tag and a little extra to help him with the hunt. Contact was made with the Heaton Hea-ton Ranch and Chris and his father, Cliff Mathews, met their guide, Jeremy Chamberlain at about 5 p.m. on Oct. 12. Jeremy drove them around the ranch and showed them many bucks. Cliff suggested he shoot several, but Chris waited until just before dark for the one he decided was just the right one. He shot a nice 25-inch 4x3 with 512 inch bases. It was a stag buck that was still in the velvet and weighed 255 pounds life weight. After taking several pictures, they went back to the cabins where they stayed the night. The next morning, Jeremy took them out again to look at the deer and elk before be-fore returning home. Chris' deer was prepared by Jeremy Jer-emy and taken a taxidermist in Glendale. Chris will have a nice trophy to hang on his wall and many fond memories of the Heaton Ranch. Chris and his family gratefully express their thanks to the Heaton Ranch, to Jeremy Chamberlain and to all those who helped make Chris' hunt possible and create for him an unforgettable experience. "I'd do it again in a heart beat," he said. |