Shooting Range

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A developer's plan to build a shooting range and firearms training facility in southwestern Berkeley County attracted concern Monday night from neighbors and support from sportsmen who attended a public hearing held by Berkeley County Planning Commission. Sketch plans for the Peacemaker National Training Center, which is proposed to be built on about 500 acres along Brannons Ford Road near the Virginia state line, were unanimously advanced by commissioners to the next stage of plan approval.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - The Jefferson County Planning Commission granted three variances to a commercial shooting range at the Summit Point Raceway complex on Tuesday. BSR Range plans to upgrade the shooting facility from one traditional firing range to two and add a third, computer-operated range, said Mike Shepp, who presented the plans to the Planning Commission. The range also will have a "shoot house" for special-operations training, Shepp said. The range is used by local and federal law enforcement, as well as the U.S. State Department for training exercises.

Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., is pushing for construction of a $24.9 million federal shooting range on farmland near Harpers Ferry, angering a leading local historic conservationist who said the senator has "betrayed" his constituents. The proposed shooting range would go on 327 acres near the Civil War-era School House Ridge battlefield. Historic preservationists had hoped to expand the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park onto that property, which is owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Washington County officials opened a new landfill not so long ago, and now they have to figure out what to do with the old one. Frankly, I have trouble finding fault with their initial idea, which is to use the old dump as a shooting range. Well? Makes sense, doesn't it? Lots of tin cans. And what could possibly be more popular in Washington County than a place for folks to fire off their weapons? If you could somehow figure out a way to work cars-going-fast - and perhaps bacon - into the mix, that would be just about everything a self-respecting Washington Countian could desire.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.VA. - Cacapon State Park has the first wobble clay shooting range in a West Virginia state park, and Gov. Joe Manchin helped dedicate it Monday, cutting the ribbon and saying he was ready to shoot. "This is something I enjoy," Manchin said. "If it makes noise, whether an engine or a gun, I like it. " Wobble clays are clay targets released into the air for trapshooting. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources personnel from Charleston, W.Va., and Cacapon State Park were at the range, along with state legislators who were attending an interim session.

tarar@herald-mail.com Washington County Administrator Rodney Shoop said Monday a shooting range might be included in plans for the former Resh Sanitary Landfill on Greencastle Pike. Shoop said the concept is being worked on by county officials as a result of requests from residents. Commissioners President Gregory I. Snook said the interest in a range has been around for the last several years, but cost estimates or whether the landfill is suitable for such a setup never have been determined.

Shooting range is too close To the editor: On April 19 at 2 p.m., I was hunting for mushrooms on my property, at 14002 Heavenly Acres Ridge. I heard shooting and immediately heard bullets whizzing past my head as I ducked for cover. Upon investigation, I discovered that one or more Washington County Sheriff deputies were shooting at a makeshift shooting range, just a few feet from my property line. The stray bullets that missed the two-by-three-foot target that was propped up by a stump were coming directly into the woods behind it. I was amazed that anyone would set up a shooting target this way with a total disregard for others' safety.

Matt Ward was poring over federal budget documents for his job as an environmental lawyer when a proposal to spend $24.9 million to build a firearms training center near Harpers Ferry, W.Va., caught his eye. cont. from front page Ward, who chairs the nonprofit land trust organization Harpers Ferry Conservancy, was immediately concerned. The 327 acres in question represent about one-third of the land the conservancy has been working to add to the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

scottb@herald-mail.com Washington County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Shifflet said he did not know he was violating any county laws by having a shooting range on family land east of Hancock. Shifflet, 22, a deputy since May 2000, said he and family members had been shooting on the .92-acre plot on Heavenly Acres Ridge for about 13 years. He said he only shot small-caliber handguns at the range, which he said he has stopped using. Shifflet and neighbor James W. True Sr. disagree on whether the range is safe and whether bullets sometimes ended up on True's property.

Thumbs up to seniors Laura Forsythe of Williamsport High School and Pete Frey of Boonsboro High School for the academic and athletic achievements that won them the Wendy's High School Heisman Award. Thumbs up to Meg Galligan of Hagerstown, for using her "Ride of Your Life" prize to take three local World War II vets to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 11. Thumbs down to all the Pennsylvania residents who complain about state government, but who failed to join the 16 percent of the Keystone State's registered voters who went to the polls on Nov. 8. Thumbs down to anyone purchasing a new home close to the Rouzerville Fish & Game Association shooting range who complains about the noise.

Thousands of people are expected to slog through a muddy and physically challenging obstacle course in Berkeley County this weekend as part of Tough Mudder, a fast-growing endurance series. The first wave of more than 13,000 “mudders” are expected to start the near 12-mile course about 8 a.m. Saturday near Glengary, W.Va., at Peacemaker National Training Center, which is hosting the two-day event, according to organizers. Created by a former counter-terrorism agent for the British government, Tough Mudder events challenge participants to complete muddy 10- to 12-mile obstacle courses that are designed to test all-around strength, stamina, mental grit and camaraderie of participants, according to the company.

An attorney representing a Hedgesville, W.Va.-area gun range told the Berkeley County Planning Commission Monday night that the business owner believes it is in compliance with county regulations. Tango Down Range at 1391 Allensville Road has been targeted by nearby residents who have aired safety and noise concerns. Attorney Charles S. Trump IV said his client “absolutely wants to comply with the law and certainly has.” Trump said the business owned by Jimmy McWilliams has been operating on a shale pit site owned by Robert Butts, who still mines shale from the property nearby.

Berkeley County officials have been trying for more than a year to get a Hedgesville, W.Va., area gun range to verify claims that it is exempt from certain county regulations. A stop work order was issued by the Berkeley County Engineering Department and posted on the Tango Down Range property in September 2011 because a site plan for the development had not been received, according to county records. County Engineer Kimberly J. Shrader said the county also has yet to receive proof that the business along Allensville Road obtained an entrance permit from the state Division of Highways as required.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A developer's plan to build a shooting range and firearms training facility in southwestern Berkeley County attracted concern Monday night from neighbors and support from sportsmen who attended a public hearing held by Berkeley County Planning Commission. Sketch plans for the Peacemaker National Training Center, which is proposed to be built on about 500 acres along Brannons Ford Road near the Virginia state line, were unanimously advanced by commissioners to the next stage of plan approval.

Washington County Commissioners No meeting Tuesday, Nov. 25 Washington County Board of Education No meeting Tuesday, Nov. 25 Hagerstown Mayor and City Council Regular Session City Hall, Second Floor, Council Chamber 1 E. Franklin St., Hagerstown Tuesday, Nov. 25, 7 p.m. Agenda o Announcements -- Meeting Schedule (1) Tuesday, Dec. 2, Work Session, 4 p.m. (2) Tuesday, Dec. 9, Work Session, 4 p.m. (3)

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.VA. - Cacapon State Park has the first wobble clay shooting range in a West Virginia state park, and Gov. Joe Manchin helped dedicate it Monday, cutting the ribbon and saying he was ready to shoot. "This is something I enjoy," Manchin said. "If it makes noise, whether an engine or a gun, I like it. " Wobble clays are clay targets released into the air for trapshooting. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources personnel from Charleston, W.Va., and Cacapon State Park were at the range, along with state legislators who were attending an interim session.

FORT WORTH, Texas There was a time when Crystal Langhorne wasn't allowed to play basketball on Sundays. That was a day for church and family time, her father said. But that rule only applied until Langhorne's parents realized their daughter had a special gift, and it looks as if those 50-plus days of rest a year didn't set Langhorne back, after all. Langhorne, a sophomore center/forward, will be playing today at 6 p.m. in one of the biggest games of her life as she and Maryland face top-ranked North Carolina in the first semifinal game of the women's Final Four in Boston.

Thumbs up to seniors Laura Forsythe of Williamsport High School and Pete Frey of Boonsboro High School for the academic and athletic achievements that won them the Wendy's High School Heisman Award. Thumbs up to Meg Galligan of Hagerstown, for using her "Ride of Your Life" prize to take three local World War II vets to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 11. Thumbs down to all the Pennsylvania residents who complain about state government, but who failed to join the 16 percent of the Keystone State's registered voters who went to the polls on Nov. 8. Thumbs down to anyone purchasing a new home close to the Rouzerville Fish & Game Association shooting range who complains about the noise.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, PA.- For nearly 70 years, members of the Rouzerville Fish & Game Association have tried to be good neighbors to those living around their 37-acre site off Mentzer Gap Road. Now, they're worried that their neighbors might not be good to them. Last week, four of the association's members - Woody Stoner, Sidney Fitz, Reno Eyler and Joe Hess - met at the clubhouse to talk about their fears that new people moving into housing developments being built around the fish and game association property won't want to live near a place where there's a bunch of guys shooting guns.

pepperb@herald-mail.com SMITHSBURG - Sitting in lawn chairs and tending a bonfire, members of the Washington County Sheriff's Department and Hagerstown Police Department showed no signs of stress as they waited their turns to take a shot at keeping their firearms. During a few days this month, police from the two agencies met at a shooting range near Smithsburg to be tested on their shooting skills, the first time the departments have combined shooting courses for the annual test.