Posted on 05/17/2002 4:33:02 PM PDT by tarawa
Copyright 2002 The Commercial Appeal, Inc. The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
May 16, 2002 Thursday Final Edition
SECTION: NEIGHBORS; Pg. EM1
LENGTH: 450 words
HEADLINE: GUN RANGE WILL CLOSE TO PUBLIC AT END OF '03; PARK SHOOTING FACILITY WILL SERVE OFFICERS ONLY
BYLINE: Jody Callahan, callahan@gomemphis.com
BODY: By the end of 2003, the gun range at Shelby Farms will be closed to the public.
Between now and then, Shelby County officials will decide if they want to open another public range somewhere else.
"The shooting range will be closed to the public and will be open only for use of the (Shelby) County police," said Ron Terry, chairman of the Shelby Farms board and architect of a plan to transfer control of the park to a private nonprofit organization. "This will give the county a year and a half to decide if it wants to provide a public shooting range, and if so, where." It is uncertain whether the county will open such a range.
"We're looking at options," director of Public Works Ted Fox said. "At this point, we haven't really had enough time to look into it. Probably the key consideration is an alternative suitable site that's not adjacent to homes and businesses."
Some consideration had been given to opening another range in Area 10, the space reserved for county use in the northwest corner of Shelby Farms. However, Fox said that likely wouldn't work.
"That would be difficult," he said. "(Because of) space, proximity to other facilities. Just generally those two reasons."
One of the primary reasons for closing the range to the public is liability, Fox told a County Commission committee last week. The gun range is near two hiking trails, Fox said.
"It is a real liability," he said. "It's not a good place to have a range."
However, county officials have two reasons why they aren't just closing and removing the range, Terry said.
One is the cost it would involve to do an environmental cleanup of the range, where hundreds of thousands of bullets have been fired over the years. Another, Terry said, is to give the Shelby County police a place to practice.
Although Terry said money wasn't a factor in the closure, Fox gave the commission documents that indicated the range is operating at an annual deficit of about $9,000.
Salary, supplies and other requirements account for about $76,106.80 in annual expenditures, while the range has earned about $67,000 on average for each of the past three years.
The news was a disappointment to those who use the range, one of the few public places in the area for gun enthusiasts to shoot.
"I don't like it. I don't think another one will be opened up. If another one is opened up in Shelby County, it should be opened at the same time (after this one closes)," said Bartlett resident Wally Carlson, who shoots at the range twice a month or so. "There should be definite plans to open another range, not just a promise that we're going to open another range sometime."
- Jody Callahan: 529-6531
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.