Photo Provided Another class of young hunters graduates a hunter safety course held recently at the Belmont-Monroe FOP Lodge in St. Clairsville.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Almost 40 young people attended the most recent local hunter safety course, and organizers say more are taking an interest in outdoor activities.

Sgt. Tom DeVaul of the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office is not a certified instructor, but he has organized the courses for several years.

He has said he is motivated by his love of hunting and the desire to encourage others to try the sport.

The class met at the Belmont-Monroe FOP lodge in St. Clairsville for the eight hours of coursework.

“I bring in certified state instructors who have gone to the (Ohio Department of Natural Resources) class,” he said. “It covers hunting ethics, primarily hunting safety, the proper way of carrying a firearm or how to operate it, and also archery.

“I had 36 in the class. … All successfully passed,” he said. “We had another successful class this year. Our number was a couple down from what we had last year, but we expect it’s going to fluctuate year-to-year by a few students.”

He said the youngest student was about 8 years old.

“The kids really enjoyed it. We tried to keep them involved in the class, and with the giveaways that we give them, every kid left there with a smile on their face and a bunch of tools that they can use hunting in the future,” he said.

Gift items included deer calls, turkey calls, squirrel calls and assorted information and other small items.

“A lot of sponsors donated to us this year,” he said.

“A couple of students were looking to hunt out of state, and you have to show proof of taking a hunter’s ed class in order to hunt out of state,” he said. “Most of them were the youth looking to get their first Ohio hunting license.”

DeVaul said he was impressed by the students’ interest and engagement.

“This class was very interactive, they had a lot of questions,” he said. “There’s a lot of PowerPoint involved, where we talk about shot placement on an animal and get the class involved with ‘which of these two scenarios is the safest way, and which is an incorrect way?’ They were really involved.”

He said squirrel season started Sept. 1 and runs through Jan. 31, and deer archery season begins Sept. 24 and runs to February.

“You have other small game season, rabbit season, grouse season, those will all be coming in about a month,” he said.

“In the last couple years after COVID, it seems like we’ve got another spark of interest in people into the hunting and fishing activities, which is great to see because hunters and fishermen are the biggest conservationists,” DeVaul said. “It’s really good to see the youth getting more involved with it again. … It seems like people are really getting back into outdoor activities.”

DeVaul thanked Belmont County Sheriff Dave Lucas, Hardy’s Game Calls, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, Whitetails Unlimited, Ruger Firearms, Deerassic Park, Mossburg Firearms and Brenda Duvall, who donated in memory of Reserve Deputy Alan Duvall.

DeVaul said anyone wishing to learn more about hunting and hunting safety or to ask about scheduling a class can call the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office at 740-695-7933 and ask for him.

“We’ll be more than happy to help them out,” he said.

More information can also be found at ohiodnr.gov.