The New Era - All about Sweet Home since 1929

Jan. 6, 1972

The aftermath of a duck hunting trip for a group of boys resulted in one boy being hospitalized with a gunshot wound Dec. 29.

Jeffrey Stafford, 16, was struck in the lower back when a 16-gauge shotgun accidentally discharged in the hands of one of his companions.

Michael Thorne, 16, had picked up the gun with one hand as the youths talked in his home upon their return from the river where they had been hunting. Stafford was approaching the kitchen entrance when the shot occurred and was about 15 feet away from the gun.

He was taken to Lebanon Community Hospital and is said to...