Care With Firearms
Kids and guns.
These three words in a news story almost always garner reader attention, especially if the reader is a parent.
Kids and guns and safety should interest a parent even more. Two programs combining all these elements are offered Saturday.
The city of Ventura’s Department of Community Services will have a class in beginning pistol marksmanship from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., open to those 16 and older, at the Grant Park shooting range on the hill above Ventura City Hall. The city has contracted with Ventura Shooting Range Inc. to conduct the course, which costs $35 and emphasizes gun safety and laws, proper operation and technique. Enrollees must bring their own firearms, and kids 16 and 17 must be accompanied by an adult.
After the course, the shooting range will be the site of the regular Saturday gathering of the Youth Program of the Ojai Valley Gun Club from 1 to 4 p.m. Membership, which costs $5 a year, is open to boys and girls 9 to 21. Rifles and instruction are provided by the club. Ammunition is on sale at the range.
“This will be a basic handgun course,” said Bill Jackson, who will be the instructor for the pistol course in the morning. “First there will be two hours of [instruction] on safety, nomenclature and handgun laws, including legality of carrying various weapons, including shotguns.” Then he will supervise a two-hour instructional session at the shooting range for students firing revolvers and other weapons. This is the 10th year the city of Ventura has offered the course.
The program following the city-sponsored course will be led by Elena “Nina” Neuron, chief instructor for the Youth Program of the Ojai Valley Gun Club.
“The emphasis is on safety,” she said. “Newcomers get safety briefings . . . We’re trying to teach [kids] to use this technology in a responsible way--as they would with a band saw or a car.” Parents of preteen participants are encouraged, but not required, to stay for the duration of the club-sponsored gathering.
Tara Hernandez, a Santa Paula High School junior, said of her participation, “I started at 14 and [have] enjoyed it ever since. I had been at a Scout camp where they said girls couldn’t shoot--but I hit their target the first time I shot.”
Now, as one of three girls in the 17-member junior gun club, she said she enjoys competing “on a level playing field with boys.” Her father, Francisco Hernandez, said his daughter, who hopes someday to go to medical school, is too shy to reveal that she outshoots all the boys on the range.
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Curtain Call: The Thousand Oaks-based Young Artist Ensemble has issued a call for aspiring actors and actresses ages 10 to 19 to audition for roles in the coming production of a musical based on the classic story “The Princess and the Pea.” Auditions for the show, “Once Upon a Mattress,” will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. at the Arts Council Center in Thousand Oaks. The show runs May 1-16. Those interested should bring a prepared song with sheet music. An accompanist will be provided. This cultural program of the Conejo Recreation and Parks District charges a fee of $85 to those who are cast in the show. (805) 381-2747.
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BE THERE
Beginning Pistol Marksmanship, a city of Ventura Department of Community Services class offered at the Ventura Shooting Range in Grant Park, 499 Brakey Road, Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The one-day course is open to beginners ages 16 to adults, fee $35. Students must provide their own firearms. Registration required. (805) 648-4968.
The Youth Program of the Ojai Valley Gun Club meets Saturdays, 1-4 p.m., at the Ventura Shooting Range. Membership open to ages 9 to 21; firearms provided and ammunition on sale. Call Elena Neuron, (805) 988-0403.