THERE'S A SPECIAL event that happens on the first Saturday of each December at Caledon Natural Area in King George County.

Some 100 volunteers from all over the state flood the property in the wee hours of the morning to help 25 to 30 disabled veterans take part in a special hunt that helps manage the deer population at the state park.

The disabled vets, many of whom are in wheelchairs, are escorted to stands set far enough apart to ensure the safety of all involved.

By the time the hunt put on by the Fredericksburg/Northern Neck Chapter of the Virginia Deer Hunters Association is done, as many as 20 deer will have been bagged by the enthusiastic vets. Some of the hunters have been showing up for more than a decade.

For breakfast and dinner, all involved gather at the picnic shelter near the park welcome center.

In the past, the park staff and the volunteers who run the hunt did all they could to make participants warm and comfortable there--covering windows and openings with plastic, bringing in propane heaters, etc.

But when the hunt participants gather in the shelter this winter, it will be warmer inside in several ways.

Thanks to the local chapter of the Virginia Deer Hunters Association, there will be a blazing fire roaring in a new fireplace and hearth that the group built at a cost of about $12,000.

"Not only will it allow the participants in our veterans hunt to have a much more pleasant and comfortable day," said park manager Nina Cox, "the addition of this fireplace will also extend the use of the shelter for all into the cooler months."

A special dedication of the fireplace is scheduled for 2 p.m. today at Caledon. It will feature public and state officials and even comments from a few of the disabled veterans who have been part of the hunt.

Buddy Fines of King George, a longtime member of the deer hunters group who worked with park officials on the project, said the idea for a fireplace came from some of the group's leaders after a hunt on a frigid day last December.