Tulsa World: Hunter safety instructor removed after ordering 'liberals' from class

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Hunter safety instructor removed after ordering 'liberals' from class

Lane Dunkley

By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
Published: 3/6/2009 1:31 PM
Last Modified: 3/6/2009 7:31 PM

Thirteen-year-old Lane Dunkley just wanted to go hunting with his grandfather.

What he got was a lecture on politics.

Dunkley and his father Daniel Reddy, who live in Tulsa, went to Broken Arrow Tuesday night for a hunter safety course normally required to get an Oklahoma hunting license.

The class was a reward of sorts. Dunkley, who wants to go hunting with his aging grandfather, was told he could only if he brought his grades up.

So he did - to a B-plus average.

But when father and son arrived at the lesson, the volunteer instructor, Kell Wolf, asked if any of the students voted for President Obama.

Reddy, a transplanted Californian - and ex-Marine - raised his hand.

According to Reddy and others in the room, Wolf called Obama “the next thing to the Anti-Christ” and ordered Reddy and Dunkley from the room. When Reddy refused, Wolf said he would not teach “liberals” and would cancel the course if Reddy didn’t leave.

So Reddy and Dunkley left, as did a few others.

Lance Meek, hunter education coordinator for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, said Wolf had been a volunteer instructor for “a long time, probably 15 years or more” and “from what we’ve heard and observed, had always done a great job. He worked with the kids really well.”

But when Meek received a call Wednesday morning - from someone other than the Reddys - he said he had no choice.

“I got the call at 8:30, and by 9 o’clock (Wolf) was no longer a volunteer for us," Meek said.

Contacted Friday, Wolf had no comment on the matter. Meek said when he talked briefly to Wolf on Wednesday, Wolf did not deny ordering Reddy from the class or offer an explanation.

Stacy Reddy, Daniel Reddy’s wife and Lane Dunkley’s mother, said the family was surprised by how quickly the Wildlife Department acted.

“Lance Meek called and apologized up and down and wanted to know what they could do to make it right,” she said. “The only thing we really wanted was for my son to be able to take the hunter safety course, and there wasn’t another one in the Tulsa area with an opening for the rest of 2009.”

So Meek arranged for a private class.

Read more of this story in tomorrow's Tulsa World. By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer

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Reader comments for this story have been moved to the most updated version of the story, now under the headline "Liberals told to leave," which was published on 3/7/2009. So far, 379 comments have been made.