A news story - Hunt of a lifetime for a Georgia teen

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This is a newspaper story about my son.

On the drums for the HS band

Hunt of a lifetime for a handicapped Georgia teen


A handicapped Georgia teenager is going to get the hunt of a lifetime in Washington State this fall, if his family manages to raise the money for airfare and to ship his moose or elk back home.

At 15 years old, Jesse Baker is a typical teenager in most ways. He doesn’t like to clean his room, loves the internet and occasionally adopts an attitude toward his parents. He also loves to hunt, especially wild hogs and deer.

What sets him apart is Down Syndome, a genetic condition that pervades every cell in his body. Down Syndrome, also known as Trisomy 21, brings with it mental retardation and physical defects. Jesse was born with a hole in his heart, which closed over the intervening years, but he remains under the care of a pediatric cardiologist. He also has an unusually large gap between the vertebrae in his neck, which means contact sports are out. A couple of years ago, he had a bone insert in both ankles to correct a joint disorder. That was mostly successful.

“This is Jesse’s hunt. He’ll carry the gun and do the shooting,” said dad Ben Baker. “I’m going because he can’t go by himself on a trip like this. But he’ll be the one in charge. He’ll decide what to shoot and when.”

MAKING IT HAPPEN

My favorite Jesse picture. He is "scaring" me.

The total cost of the trip is normally around $6,000. But Fourtrack Outfitters, www.fourtrackhunting.com/, in Colville, WA, has donated a 4-day hunt to Jesse. Fourtracks owner Chris van Kempen contacted the Team No Prisoners TV show and offered a hunt to a disabled youngster. TNP Executive Editor Scott Dawson and Producer Homer Guy immediately suggested Jesse.

That cut the cost back considerably. This left Jesse needed to raise air fare, money for food and to ship his moose or elk home. That’s estimated to be somewhere between $3,000 and $4,000.

“This is just a natural fit for us,” said Barry Barbee of Autowrangler.com , a company helping raise money for the trip. “We have a mission at Autowranglers.com to give back to the community and spread the word of Jesus. By helping Jesse, we make a dream of his come true and Jesse will also use the Washington trip as mission work. Jesse Baker loves God and tells everyone about that.”

Mr. Barbee said Autowranglers.com will buy a vehicle, any vehicle and anywhere in the nation, donated to Jesse’s hunt. The car will be picked up with a day and a check will be delivered to Jesse’s hunting fund the same day.

“It doesn’t matter what shape the vehicle is in. We’ll buy it. Guaranteed. You call me, I’ll buy it. I’ll donate the money to Jesse’s hunting trip,” Mr. Barbee said. “It’s a win-win-win. You get a junk car out of your yard, we all get to help a disabled young man enjoy an amazing hunting trip and Autowranglers.com makes a difference in someone’s life.”

ABOUT JESSE

Jesse and a wild hog he killed.

Active in his church’s youth group and a member of the adult Choir, Jesse is quick to tell anyone who will listen about Jesus, his sister and parents and how he’s going to Washington to shoot a big moose.

“Me shoot moose. Big moose,” he says, pantomiming holding a rifle up and pulling the trigger. “Cook it and eat it. Make hamburgers!”

Hamburgers are Jesse’s favorite food.

“Everyone who has ever met Jesse loves him,” Mr. Barbee. “Even if you just met him, Jesse is going to tell everyone you are his ‘old friend’ and he’ll treat you like you really are an old friend.”

Jesse has been hunting since he was three years old, according to Mr. Baker. He got his first gun, a BB rifle when he was five. He now has a .22 rifle which he uses to hunt hogs around South Georgia. He will borrow his father’s deer rifle for the Washington State hunt.

For more information about how to help Jesse achieve his goal of hunting in Washington State, call Mr. Barbee at 1 (877) 845-7378, barry.barbee@autowranglers.com or Mr. Baker at 229-567-3655, redneckgenius@gmail.com

Trip sponsors so far are:
Friends and family
Auto Wranglers - www.Autowranglers.com
Buckmasters - www.buckmasters.com
Fourtracks Outfitters - www.fourtrackhunting.com
Team No Prisoners - www.teamnoprisoners.com