November 23, 2005
By Dennis Jensen Herald Staff
The sergeant at arms at the Vermont State House has been cited for
hunting deer with bait in Stowe during the October bow-and-arrow season
— the second hunting violation brought against him in two years.
Kermit Spaulding, a former member of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife
Board, was cited to appear in Lamoille District Court on Nov. 14, but
was granted an extension to Dec. 5.
In his previous Fish & Wildlife violation in 2003, he was convicted
of shooting from his truck at a deer decoy in a meadow near the Trapp
Family Lodge in Stowe.
Game Warden Dennis Reinhardt cited Spaulding in both incidents.
A ban on hunting over bait was instituted this year by the Vermont
Fish & Wildlife Board. If convicted, Spaulding could face an
undetermined fine and a loss of hunting, fishing and trapping privileges
in Vermont for three years.
Spaulding was first elected to the sergeant at arms post by
legislators in 1997. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday night
and was reportedly out of state.
The Fish & Wildlife Department refers alleged violations to state's
attorneys for prosecution.
Lamoille County State's Attorney's Joel Page declined to discuss the
Spaulding case.
"I have received the case and I'm not sure what the allegation is,"
Page said Tuesday. "We don't give out information on cases that haven't
been screened."
Reinhardt, meanwhile, was reluctant to discuss any details about the
case and seemed perplexed that Page wouldn't provide details of the
charges against Spaulding.
"I can tell you he's been cited for hunting deer over bait,"
Reinhardt said.
John Hall, a spokesman for the Fish & Wildlife Department, could not
provide further details about the Spaulding case and referred all
questions to Page's office.
It is a common practice for the Fish & Wildlife Department to issue a
press release detailing an arrest for a violation, based solely on a
game warden's arrest report. No release has been issued by the
department in Spaulding's latest Fish & Wildlife citation last month.
Spaulding, who resides in Stowe, was a member of the Vermont Fish &
Wildlife Board when he shot at a decoy deer from inside his truck in
Stowe back in 2003. Appointed by Gov. James Douglas, he resigned from
the board after admitting to the charge.
"I did it," Spaulding told the Associated Press at the time. "Fifty
years of community service, 60 years of hunting and one dumb moment."
Vermont game wardens use decoy deer, especially during the Vermont
deer season, to apprehend illegal road hunters and poachers.
The Fish & Wildlife Board instituted a ban on feeding and baiting
deer earlier this year.
"This is something set by the Fish & Wildlife Board. They're taking
it (baiting) very seriously," Reinhardt said Tuesday. "It's a three-year
loss of license upon conviction. They considered the ethical
implications of hunting over bait and, more importantly, the chronic
waste disease issue."
Contact Dennis Jensen at
dennis.jensen@rutlandherald.com.
