The St. Catherine Wildlife Refuge offers a variety of special blinds and hunts to disabled hunters, according acting director Maury Bedford.

The problem, he said, is that those services are rarely used.

&uot;We always have open blinds at some point during the season,&uot; he said. &uot;We need to let handicapped people know about these services.&uot;

Two ground-based blinds on the Sibley unit are reserved for wheelchair-bound hunters, he said.

&uot;Those who use the blinds must be wheelchair-dependent,&uot; he said. &uot;No walkers or anything like that.

&uot;Also, all hunters are required to have someone with them to assist in the retrieval of any harvested deer,&uot; he said. &uot;We don’t help with that.&uot;

The blinds are near a road, he said, and have food plots near them to attract deer.

Both are accessible via a ramp and have three shooting windows, Bedford added.

Reservations must be made in advance to use the blinds. They can be made by calling the refuge at 442-6696.

Archery season for deer for the wheelchair blinds has begun and will continue until Nov. 10. The season then goes from Jan. 18-31.

Primitive weapons season lasts from Dec. 2-15 and Jan. 18-31.

Gun season for deer lasts from Nov. 18-Dec. 1, Dec. 16-22 and Dec. 28-Jan. 17.

The refuge is also offering a special hunt on Nov. 18 for handicapped sportsmen. A drawing will decide 10 hunters who get to use the Cloverdale Unit of the refuge, which is not usually open to hunters, Bedford said.

&uot;Our desire is to offer opportunities for those who are physically challenged to everything that other people can do,&uot; Bedford said.