Concerns Discussed At Shooting Range Public Hearing

Residents say they still have concerns over a shooting range proposed to be built for the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office.

On Friday, Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley and Chief Deputy Andy Myers met with residents concerned about the proposed shooting range in a public meeting.

About a dozen people were in attendance, most of whom had either concerns or questions about the range that the Sheriff’s Office proposes to build on land owned by Stephens County that is behind the fueling depot for the county’s road department.

Many of the concerns centered around the noise that would come from the range.

Neighborhood resident Jack Barnard said he does not want to hear the noise from both the county range and the city range.

“If I can hear the pop, pop, pop from a mile and a half away, I am going to hear that pop, pop, pop from a half mile away or a tenth of a mile away,” said Barnard.

However, Myers said that the topography of the proposed Sheriff’s Office range, which sits below the land surrounding it, would help keep the noise from getting out as far.

“Where the city range you have an increase in elevation going towards where they are firing and then it kind of falls off downhill, the elevation and the physical barrier of the Earth is going to have the greatest effect on the sound,” said Myers.

One of the main concerns about noise dealt with the animal shelter just 400 yards away.

However, Shelter Director Jeff Roberts said he has no concerns after some test shots were fired this week as he stood outside near the back of the shelter closest to the proposed range.

“The shots were very low, muffled sounds,” said Roberts. “If I was having a conversation at that point, I would not have heard them (the shots). If I was not conditioned to be listening for them, I would not have heard them. They were very low sounds, considerably lower than a barking dog.”

Critics said that a few shots will not simulate the sound of a range where up to 10 people would be shooting, especially if shotguns or rifles are being used.

However, Roberts said he would not be concerned about the noise if it were 10 times as loud as the test he heard.

Also, Myers said they would mainly fire pistols and only use shotguns or rifles two or three times a year.

People also questioned the Sheriff’s Office claim that there were scheduling issues in trying to use the city’s range.

Citizen Bryan Dooley said that he checked with the city range and was told they would do everything they could to accommodate the county.

Myers said that the issue centers around the Sheriff’s Office wanting to do extra training for deputies.

“I think we owe it not only to our law enforcement officers here in Stephens County, but we owe it to the citizens to train more in-depth and more often than the once a year required by the state,” said Myers.

However, Scenic Drive neighborhood resident Bryan Gordon said the county and city should be able to both use the city’s facility without any problem.

According to Gordon, if the city and county are training 45 days each, that is 90 days out of 365 days in a year.

“That is bad logistics if you cannot use the same range,” said Gordon. “Some one has to be better at logistics to use a range 90 days out of 365 days in a year.”

Critics also questioned whether residents were contacted appropriately, noting that while the sheriff said residents within 400 yards had been contacted, Myers says there are no residents within that range.

Myers added if there are, he wants to talk to them.

Barnard said he feels there are still too many unanswered questions that require more study.

“Don’t you think with the animal shelter and the residents around it, an impact study should have been done, not just for the noise, but environmental, depreciation of property values?” asked Barnard. “Should that not have been taken into consideration?”

Myers said he tried to follow every standard he could find.

“At the end of the day, we have met every standard I could find,” said Myers. “I am using every source I could find because I wanted to be sure that we were building something that would be safe.”

“What standard is that?” asked Barnard.

“You pick it,” said Myers, listing the National Rifle Association and Department of Defense standards, and others.

The Sheriff’s Office also took people out to the range site to show them the plans.

In August, Stephens County Commissioners voted to let the Sheriff’s Office to use the land for the range.

However, following concerns about the range from the public, commissioners in September voted to have work halted until those concerns were worked out.

Stephens County Administrator Phyllis Ayers said the commission would re-visit the matter next month.