The Ear is aware that the subject of drones is contentious territory on the North Coast, so perhaps a little levity is in order.

The tiny town of Deer Trail, Colo., received national attention by issuing unofficial DRONE HUNTING LICENSES (pictured) to hunt and kill drones operating within the sovereign air space of Deer Trail, Colorado at $25 a pop (http://tinyurl.com/droneshoot).

The license also clearly states (OK, its in fine print) that it may not be recognized by tyrannical municipal, state or federal governments. Even so, nearly 1,000 people applied for the license, practically none of whom live in Deer Trail.

Actually, despite all the official-sounding silliness, there really is an anti-drone ordinance in the works that allows folks to shoot at the unmanned aerial vehicles with any shotgun 12 gauge or smaller from sunrise to sundown. But the town of 550 wont vote on it till Oct. 8.

And guess what? The ordinance was written by none other than the gentleman who is selling the drone hunting licenses, PHILLIP STEEL (pictured, inset) of PROFESSIONAL DRONE HUNTERS INC., whose motto is If you dont want your drone to go down, dont fly it in town! (www.droneshooters.com).

The Ear suspects the feds are not amused.

Elleda Wilson