SHOOTING -- A shooting range in Western Washington and a gun club in Lewiston, Idaho, are taking heat from neighbors, according to two stories just moving on the Associated Press.
Mom who lives near shooting range says stray bullet hit her
BRUSH PRAIRIE, Wash. (AP) — The family of a woman who was grazed in the head by a bullet says they can’t prove it came from the neighboring shooting range, but a metal detector turned up more than a pound of bullets in their yard.
Linda Sperling of Brush Prairie is still recovering from a concussion after she she was struck by a bullet Jan. 26 while in her yard.
The vice president of Clark Rifles shooting range, Dave Christie, says there’s no proof the bullet was a stray from the range, The Columbian reports. The sheriff’s office says it appears to be an “unintended, unfortunate incident.”
The Sperling family is considering legal action against the shooting range.
Brush Prairie is near Vancouver, Washington, just across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon.
Lewiston Gun Club range plan draws crowd, controversy
ASOTIN (Lewiston Tribune) -- A standing-room-only crowd of shooting enthusiasts and landowners will have to wait at least another month before they know whether a controversial gun club will be built in rural Asotin County.
After listening to 90 minutes of passionate pleas from both sides Tuesday night, the Asotin County Planning Commission opted to table its decision, saying more details are needed on what is proposed by the Lewiston Gun Club at the site eight miles south of Asotin.
The advisory panel said the application for a conditional-use permit in an agricultural zone needs to be resubmitted, along with the state’s environmental review, before any decisions are made on the proposal.
Eric Kopczynski, who lives closest to the site, said the effects on his home have been downplayed. The tranquility will be destroyed, along with property values, he said.
"I live right across the highway," he said. "There is no way I can sell my house with a gun club next door. The nuisance and economic impact is huge for me."
Ken Wareham gave a 20-minute presentation on the history and benefits of the club, which has been without a home since 2008. The club’s former site was near the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport.
Jake Weiss, who was raised on a farm one mile south of the proposed club, gave the commission a letter from seven contiguous landowners who oppose the location. The potential noise, safety issues, land values and negative effects on farming are among the concerns of neighbors in the area, he said.
A land-use attorney from Spokane, Todd Hume, said the testimony didn’t address why this site is worthy of a conditional-use permit, and the application can’t be a moving target that keeps changing. Hume is representing Joanne Bolick’s farm, which is next to the gun club.
"Gun clubs are constantly in conflict with their neighbors," said Todd Hume, a Spokane land-use attorney representing one of the nearby farms. "You will be inviting disaster if you site that gun club in that location. They do serve a purpose, but your job is to look at the code."
Victor Dalosto, who owns the property where the proposed gun club is located, said there is no money in this for him. He said he’s basically giving the land to the club because he believes it will be an asset to the community. He also said he’s donating $30,000 to the Wounded Warrior Project for shooting activities connected to the club.
Trap shooters said it would bring a fun, recreational sport to Asotin County, along with people who spend money on such things as food, gas, guns and ammunition.
