Welcome to the Business Journal Archives
Search for articles below, or continue to the all new BusinessJournalDaily.com now.
Search
Kerry Hunts for Votes, Bags Goose in Molnar's Cornfield"
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- After watching his beloved Red Sox upset the New York Yankees last night to win the American League Championship Series, John Kerry was "still giddy," he said."It's hard to focus," he told reporters as he emerged from a cornfield on the Springfield Township farm of Rick and Jill Molnar where he went hunting this morning for Canada geese.Even so, the Democratic presidential candidate's aim was sharp -- he bagged a Canada goose with just one shot when a flock flew overhead about 7:30 a.m. And he may also have bagged some votes from sportsmen who are Democrats but also belong to the National Rifle Association, which is working hard to re-elect George W. Bush. At least that was the aim of the morning hunt.But the NRA purchased a full-page ad in today's Vindicator to counter that Kerry is not a genuine sportsman and would "take away" guns as evidenced by his support for banning assault weapons and requiring background checks at gun shows. "If John Kerry thinks the Second Amendment is about photo ops, he's Daffy," the ad states.The actual hunt was off-limits to the news media -- too much noise would scare off the geese, reporters were told -- but Kerry and his hunting party walked past reporters and photographers when they returned from the cornfield around 9 a.m. Kerry announced that everyone in his hunting party killed a goose but he didn't carry his back. Someone else did"because it was too heavy, and I was too lazy," he joked.Kerry was accompanied by U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Ohio 6th), who told newspaper pool reporter David Skolnick of The Vindicator that he never hunted geese before, and hadn't hunted any kind of animal for 30 years. The politicians were joined by Neal Brady, a Hocking County resident and state park ranger, and Bob Bellino, the Molnar's neighbor and a board member for the local Ducks Unlimited club, which promotes the conservation and restoration of waterfowl habitats. Bellino brought his yellow Labrador, Woodstock, or "Woody," as the dog was introduced to the presidential candidate. Bellino has hunted on the Molnar farm for 15 years and loaned Kerry the Beretta 12-gauge over/under shotgun he used this morning. He approached the Molnars on Sunday and "asked if we would be interested" in hosting the hunting party, Molnar told The Business Journal. "We said sure. We knew was a good location."Not just for hunting -- the cornfield where Kerry hunted has a one acre lake that geese and ducks flock to -- but also for security, he explained. Kerry's advance team and the Secret Service found the cornfield layout to be private and safe, Molnar elaborated. "They worked very well with us -- there was no hassle."Molnar, a Democrat and Kerry supporter, said he hopes Kerry pays attention to farm issues if he's elected president. He said the candidate's visit to his farm on Western Reserve Road was "a media event to some degree but Kerry wanted time without the press."For Molnar, it was a "once in a lifetime experience," he said. "We didn't talk a lot -- it was a great day for hunting -- but it seemed like Kerry had a great time. I think he was able to relax a bit and take a short break."The Molnars farm cash grains, wheat and soybeans on 700 acres in Springfield Township. They also operate the Molnar Farms market -- their strawberries draw connoisseurs from throughout the Mahoning Valley -- where they sell a wide variety of homegrown fruits and vegetables. The goose that Kerry killed will be shipped to Teresa Heinz Kerry's Rosemont Farm in the Pittsburgh suburb of Fox Chapel where it will be consumed sometime after the Nov. 2 election, campaign staffers said.Kerry spent Wednesday night at the Holiday Inn - Boardman, where he watched the Red Sox beat the Yankees. He arrived at the Molnar farm on Western Reserve Road around 6:45 a.m. and departed about 9:30 a.m.The presidential candidate returned to Holiday Inn -- Boardman, where he changed clothes before departing for the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport. There he spoke briefly with local labor leaders but not to reporters. His campaign plane left the Mahoning Valley about 11:45 a.m. and headed for Columbus, where he will deliver an address this evening on stem cell research and be endorsed by Dana Reeve, the widow of actor Christopher Reeve."