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Voicing concern over shooting range

| May 9, 2008 12:00 AM

To the Editor:

We the residents of Highwood Drive are deeply concerned about the large caliber, small arms fire that comes from the area just below our homes.

This past Sunday afternoon was a very pleasant afternoon until it was disturbed by the loud, intensive sound of rapid gunfire. Several of my neighbors were in their yards, as was I, and our conversations went from pleasurable discourse to: “Who is firing a handgun in such close proximity to our housing area?!?”

A call to the police authorities only brought the response, “He’s in the county and not in the city and he has established a firing range. Therefore it is not likely that anyone will get shot.”

Now I realize that there are some trees between the so called shooting range and our homes and families, but a stray bullet could easily get through the brush and travel some distance before coming to an abrupt halt into one of our homes or worse into one of us.

I have been informed that in Lincoln County and the city of Libby that shooting within 500 feet of a residential area is against the law.

I have also been told that the shooting area is within 500 foot restriction.

If this office has an established firing range, does this mean that everyone in the neighborhood and surrounding area can use it? If not, then why not? Why are we required to go to the established firing range? Why can’t we all get out our firearms and fire off rounds at any time of the day or night?

Also, a curious die note: Why was this particular piece of land not annexed into the city when the top of Bowen Hill was annexed?

Why, when everyone went to the [so?] called special meeting with Mayor Berget about annexing, were we all told that the hill and everything was being annexed against our will to provide sewer and water to facilitate the resell of worthless land on the other side of the golf course?

Who owns that land that can’t pass a percolation test and renders it unsellable as is? Who benefits from the capital improvement to the golf course with the laying of city sewer lines?

Who benefits from owning worthless real estate that becomes worth $150,000 a lot once sewer and water is available to that land? Why have the property owners in Cabinet View and Cabinet Heights not heard about the mythological government grant that is supposed to pay for all this sewer construction and hook up at “little or no cost” to all the home owners?

And more importantly, why are there a select few exempted from the annexation? Why is all the land on both sides itself and all the residences on the top of the hill are now considered to be city property?

Why does there seem to be one law for one person and another law for the rest of us?

Neal E. Justice

Highwood Drive, Libby

Signatures:

Margaret Duncan

Vernon Duncan

Caroline Buckner

Ron Buckner

Rich Hutter

Don Quinn

Patrick O’Brien

Derek Greer

Mary Miller

J. Quinn

DQ

Del O’Brien

Neal E. Justice

O.D. Scheer

Rob Norman

Sandra Heilert

John Davidson

Phil Barn

Tina Greer

Steven A. Kethrod