[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 204 (Tuesday, December 19, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2406-E2407]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THANKS TO MAYOR WILLIAM LYON

                                 ______


                            HON. JAY DICKEY

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 19, 1995

  Mr. DICKEY. Mr. Speaker, when the Government shut down the first time 
this year, all of us heard from our constituents about the effects upon 
them. Let me take this opportunity to recognize a local hero in my 
district who responded to the shutdown with swift professionalism.
  Knowing the shutdown would affect hunters in the region by keeping 
them from hunting in the Felsenthal Wildlife Refuge, Mayor William Lyon 
of Fordycek, AK, responded with swift professionalism.
  A November 18, 1995, article from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 
highlights well the work of Mayor Lyons:

[[Page E2407]]


                Take a Stand Near Fordyce, Hunters Told

       Need a place to hunt after being tossed out of your stand 
     on a federal wildlife refuge?
       Mayor William Lyon of Fordyce has just the place for you.
       Call Fordyce City Hall at 352-2198 and a friendly employee 
     will arrange for you to hunt at one of the many deer camps 
     operating in Dallas County. There's no charge for the 
     service.
       Lyon said Friday there are an estimated 1,000 deer camps 
     within 50 miles of Fordyce.
       ``I read in the Democrat-Gazette about what they had done 
     to those people,'' Lyon said of an article in Wednesday's 
     newspaper about hunters being told to leave the federal 
     refuges. ``I thought how I would feel if I was a teen-ager 
     going hunting with my father. I thought about how my 
     grandsons would feel.''
       The partial shutdown of the federal government has resulted 
     in the closings of seven national wildlife refuge in the 
     state and the displacement of many hunters.
       Lyons said he knows most of the people running deer camps 
     in the county and can easily put hunters in touch with them.
       It's probably going to create some problems with a lot of 
     moving around, but we are willing to help,'' Lyon said. It's 
     possible we might find some good people that would like to 
     come back and pull some industries down here.''
       Joe Pennington, 55 of Fordyce leases land for his deer camp 
     and said he mainly hunts within a five-mile radius of town.
       ``There's not room for a whole abundance of people,'' he 
     said. ``But I have some spots where I can put a few people. 
     There are a few others that will take a few for a day or two.
       ``It's a goodwill gesture,'' Pennington said. ``Most 
     sportsmen try to get along.''
       ``We think it's very generous what the mayor has done,'' 
     said Joe Mosby, spokesman for the Arkansas Game and Fish 
     Commission. ``We're tickled to death by it.''
       Mosby said the closing of federal refugees will not affect 
     the majority of hunters in the state. ``But the refuges are 
     very popular,'' he said. ``Those hunters have a real good 
     chance of getting a deer in the refuges.''
       Lyon said his offer is a result of local officials trying 
     to build on the momentum of their successful Fall Hunting 
     Festival, held Oct. 27. Fordyce Chamber of Commerce President 
     Jim Philips, County Judge Troy Bradley and Lyon have been 
     meeting to discuss ways to promote Fordyce as ``the Hunting 
     Capital of Arkansas,'' Lyon said.

  For this effort, we congratulate and honor Mayor Lyons. Perhaps many 
of us in Congress can learn from his dedication and ability to ensure--
despite bureaucratic obstacles--that our constituents are well-served.

                          ____________________