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Spotsy residents will need to duck if police firing range reopens

September 12, 2005 1:06 am

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, then-Sheriff T.C. Waddy approached me with a proposal for a modest shooting range on county land adjacent to my home. I was assured that the range would be used specifically for the training and practice of Spotsylvania County law enforcement personnel. The proposal included a plat showing the location of the site and detailed diagrams of its construction, and I willingly consented to it. The original project was rezoned, permitted, built, and activated, with the agreement of myself and other neighboring property owners.

After Sheriff Waddy left office, the range morphed into a dangerous monster. The original range, as shown on the plat, was abandoned and a new range was constructed one-half mile closer to the entrance of the county landfill. We were not notified of the move, nor did we know any reason for it.

Both the old and the new sites of this firing range are located on one of the highest points in this area, 386 feet above sea level, as is the police radio tower. There are no natural barriers in any direction.

According to standards described in the National Rifle Association Firearms Fact Book, the ranges are in inadequate safety zones for the weapons used. It is my understanding that unsafe sites cannot be grandfathered, by the way.

The range that was in use most recently is pointed directly at Hebron Church Road and my dwelling. During winter, in my basement family room, with all windows closed and the TV on loud, I could hear the sound of pistols, high-powered rifles, and frequently machine guns, as well as, although I couldn't identify it, the occasional mysterious sound of explosions--grenades? mortars? plastique?--sometimes as late as 11 p.m. This was even more disturbing during warm weather to those within earshot. Some of us complained to the Sheriff's Office and elsewhere. Answers were largely amiable, but evasive. There were some denials and no information, follow-up, or apparent concern.

Then one summer, complete with cookouts and kids playing in their yards, several residents reported hearing stray bullets ripping through treetops overhead, above their homes and gardens. That was the last straw. The noise had become so intense that we might well have been living through the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House or in downtown Baghdad on a bad night. A group of residents decided it was time to find out what was going on at the range. We enlisted T.C. Waddy, now supervisor for Livingston District, to inspect it as well.

The first indication of how serious the problem might be was that the tall pines planted behind the berm had their tops literally chewed off by gunfire about 35 feet up from the ground. Consider: Thirty-five feet is taller than a three-story building. The range was littered with telltale cartridges that confirmed the use of the weapons I previously mentioned. If gunfire took out trees three stories up, God alone knows how many bullets passed over even higher and continued on their way until gravity brought them to the ground.

Some of the ordnance has a 3-mile range, which puts at risk traffic on about a 2-mile stretch of State Route 208, Courthouse Road. Route 208 carries heavy traffic night and day to Lake Anna, the North Anna Power Station, Mineral, and beyond with commuters, tourists, residents, dump trucks, semis hauling timber and building supplies, sportsmen hauling boats, and trailers, delivery vans, and of course emergency vehicles. Since Route 208 passes numerous schools, many large school buses packed with our children travel it more than twice a day.

Many businesses and houses lie within the 3-mile range of stray bullets. Also within this range are residents of Hebron Church Road, State Routes 395, 387 and 701, and Walnut Farm Road. The communities of Post Oak, Brokenburg, McHenry, and Margo as well as several small subdivisions and some developments under construction are within the 3-mile range.

Hundreds of families with children live within the 1-mile range of the least powerful guns employed in the shooting range. The entire community of Brokenburg also lies within a mile of the shooting range. The potential danger and the enormous liability to Spotsylvania County is evident. We can only hope the county has adequate liability insurance.

The range that was willingly dedicated for use by Spotsylvania law enforcement was actually playing host to numerous law enforcement agencies, including police SWAT teams from 23 or more Virginia counties, the Fredericksburg Police Academy, the Virginia game wardens, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and possibly other federal agencies. Who approved all of the above and how was it funded? How did this benefit the residents of Spotsylvania County? Usually, to use lawyer speech, there is some "quid pro quo," which means something of value in exchange for such privileges, which is only fair. Again, how did the residents of Spotsylvania County benefit? While we respect all of the above agencies, this was not even hinted at in the original proposal.

After the initial investigation, a group of concerned residents took this matter to the Board of Supervisors, who voted to close the range until all safety issues had been resolved.

There is a major effort under way to reopen this same shooting range. It is my belief that those responsible will try to use our consent to the original proposal in support of these new efforts. I personally do not, and will not, consent to any shooting range at this location.

What can law enforcement personnel do if the range remains closed? I suggest they look to Fort A.P. Hill or Quantico for help. Go to The Crucible or a nearby range such as the indoor range in Chancellor District.

I want to reiterate that the site used is not the one approved on the original plat. We do not know by whose authority it was relocated. Although many may agree with me, I can speak only for myself. I personally wish to withdraw my consent to the original site and to await the outcome of this matter.

ANNE HEARD FLYTHE is a resident of Spotsylvania County.