HELPING THE ANIMALS

Recently, a group of volunteers went out to the Animal Shelter in Winnsboro to do some clean-up and repairs to the facility. The volunteers were all members of a Winnsboro gun club, HAWKS, which stands for Handguns Are Worth Keeping Sacred.

According to Ron Miranda, club secretary, the organization has been looking for a project where they can show Winnsboro and Wood County that the sixty plus members care about the community they share with others. "We are not just a bunch of gun toting fanatics," he says. " We shoot, we hunt, we collect and we obey and respect the law. And we look for ways to benefit the community."

Many of the members of HAWKS are retired police officers, and they have two Certified Handgun Instructors on their roster. The HAWKS have provided security for city events, coordinating with the local police department, but they were looking for a way to expand the volunteerism.

"We were talking about that at one of our meetings last year," Ron says, "And Denise suggested we take a look at the Animal Shelter as they have very limited funds and need so much. In addition, almost every one of us are animal lovers and protectors. We contacted Rena for her need list and got Nina Browning's blessing. Then we picked a day to roll up our sleeves and git-er-done."

Men worked that day to set up and secure a dog run that had been donated. Others installed a room-long shelf in the doggie laundry room. A few cleaned and de-weeded the exercise yard, and gathered trash for disposal.

The organization also donated and installed the Animal Shelter sign at the corner of Hope Rd and Hwy 515. "We accomplished a lot that day," Ron says. "But we still have more we will be doing. We intend to paint the exterior of the building, help with the repair of the leaking roof, properly install a vent for the dryer, and try to come up with a solution for cleaning the waste troughs in the kennels."

Ron says that the organization of the work day was a complete club effort. Not everyone was able to come that day to help, but the entire membership supported it. Those who were able to help were: Ken Schwab; Gordon Glass, historian; Ronnie Kerr; Wayne Scott; Danny Dorsey, CHL Instructor; Carlos Owens, President; Jerry Walker; Ken Pregeant; Vice Pres. Dennis Bowman, Vice President; Ron Miranda, Secretary, Duane Rich; Doug Grantham, Range Safety Officer and CHL Instructor; and Doug Sager.

To see additional pictures of the men working and find out more about the HAWKS, visit their Web site They also have some pictures of dogs that are in need of a good home.

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The HAWKS Mission is to form a group of like minded men that have the same beliefs toward gun control and our second amendment rights. Membership is open to men who are members of the NRA, and have a current Concealed Handgun License. (That last requirement is waived for police officers.)

Their formal MISSION STATEMENT:

HAWKS is an organization of like-minded men that was formed to promote the belief that all men have the right to keep and bear arms. We support the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the second amendment of the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution. We also believe that our forefathers gave us these rights, and that they cannot be taken away by anyone or any organization. Our goal as an organization is to promote this belief through meetings and functions. We show that we believe in this right by responsibly carrying concealed handguns and belonging to the National Rifle Association.