ON THE COVER
Moore said he hopes to pass on several engraved guns , as well as other items in his gun collection , to his grandchildren .
But he also hopes that he is leaving them with many treasured memories .
“ One thing about me is that I love my children and now my grandchildren to the bone ,” he said .
Moore said he thinks hunting and fishing help to teach young people a respect for nature , as well as for rules . He said he often talks to his grandchildren about how everything in nature has a purpose . One of his grandsons was eager to shoot his first deer , but also became nervous when he first had the opportunity to kill one . “ When the deer came out , he just couldn ’ t shoot it ,” he said . “ I told him that he was learning a valuable lesson . People can say a lot of things , but it is very hard to take the life of something you are looking at . But it ’ s there for a purpose . We are going to eat the meat . We are not going to be wasteful . But if you don ’ t want to do it , I also understand .”
He said his grandchildren all have their own distinct personalities and are full of surprises . continued on page 12
“ The memories are priceless . There is nothing like seeing their face when they kill that first deer or catch that first fish , regardless of the size . My grandchildren , when they caught their first fish it might as well have been a 10- pound bass . The size didn ’ t matter . It just mattered because it was important to them .”
Kemper County Sheriff James Moore www . meridianstar . com
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