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By Liz Beavers
lbeavers@newstribune.info
Tribune Managing Editor
KEYSER – Plans for a shooting range in Mineral County are off for now . at least until an alternate location can be found.
Greg Harr and an organization of shooting enthusiasts known as the Mineral County Sportsmen's Association had proposed to put the range in the upper end of Mill Meadow Park, on a long unused piece of property where the old clay tennis courts used to be along Route 46.
According to Harr, the nearest site Mineral County residents have to practice their target shooting is Turner Park near Maysville, and he and the group would like to establish a site here which would not only provide a recreational activity for the shooters, but would also become an active entity within the community.
In meeting with both the Mineral County Commission and the Keyser City Council, who have joint ownership of the Mill Meadow property, Harr vowed not to pursue the plans at the old tennis courts if any of the neighbors felt uncomfortable with the location.
Last Wednesday, two people spoke out against the siting of the range at Mill Meadow during the Keyser City Council meeting.
One resident said he feared for his children and grandchildren's safety, as they enjoy playing in the woods behind the proposed range.
In addition, Steve Heare of Potomac Memorial Gardens expressed his concern about any noise coming from the range.
The Keyser City Council told Harr they would give tentative approval to the range, with the final decision to be delayed until they saw whether Harr and the group could satisfactorily address the concerns.
On Monday, Harr told the News Tribune that, given the concerns voiced by the two neighbors, they are abandoning consideration of the old tennis courts.
“We want to be community-friendly; we don't want to do this if it's going to upset people,” he said.
Harr said the group had begun looking into possible noise abatement techniques, but felt the neighbors who had complained “wouldn't even give us a chance” to try anything.
“We were willing to try whatever worked,” he said.
Harr emphasizes, however, that the idea of putting a gun range in Mineral County is not dead.
“There's still people in the community who want to see this get done,” he said. “We're looking for alternate ground.”
Larenim Park remains a possibility for the range, although Harr is in hopes that there might be some property owners out there who would be willing to lease some of their ground to the Sportsmen's Association.
“We'll just keep on looking,” he said
By Liz Beavers
lbeavers@newstribune.info
Tribune Managing Editor
KEYSER – Plans for a shooting range in Mineral County are off for now . at least until an alternate location can be found.
Greg Harr and an organization of shooting enthusiasts known as the Mineral County Sportsmen's Association had proposed to put the range in the upper end of Mill Meadow Park, on a long unused piece of property where the old clay tennis courts used to be along Route 46.
According to Harr, the nearest site Mineral County residents have to practice their target shooting is Turner Park near Maysville, and he and the group would like to establish a site here which would not only provide a recreational activity for the shooters, but would also become an active entity within the community.
In meeting with both the Mineral County Commission and the Keyser City Council, who have joint ownership of the Mill Meadow property, Harr vowed not to pursue the plans at the old tennis courts if any of the neighbors felt uncomfortable with the location.
Last Wednesday, two people spoke out against the siting of the range at Mill Meadow during the Keyser City Council meeting.
One resident said he feared for his children and grandchildren's safety, as they enjoy playing in the woods behind the proposed range.
In addition, Steve Heare of Potomac Memorial Gardens expressed his concern about any noise coming from the range.
The Keyser City Council told Harr they would give tentative approval to the range, with the final decision to be delayed until they saw whether Harr and the group could satisfactorily address the concerns.
On Monday, Harr told the News Tribune that, given the concerns voiced by the two neighbors, they are abandoning consideration of the old tennis courts.
“We want to be community-friendly; we don't want to do this if it's going to upset people,” he said.
Harr said the group had begun looking into possible noise abatement techniques, but felt the neighbors who had complained “wouldn't even give us a chance” to try anything.
“We were willing to try whatever worked,” he said.
Harr emphasizes, however, that the idea of putting a gun range in Mineral County is not dead.
“There's still people in the community who want to see this get done,” he said. “We're looking for alternate ground.”
Larenim Park remains a possibility for the range, although Harr is in hopes that there might be some property owners out there who would be willing to lease some of their ground to the Sportsmen's Association.
“We'll just keep on looking,” he said
