Document text
Moving for safety's sake Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Jason Matheus, 18, of White City, takes shooting practice Friday at the rifle range at the Jackson County Sports Park. The location of the range is expected to be moved this summer because of safety concerns. Sports park rifle range will be rebuilt so slugs stop landing at the speedway By JILL BRISKEY WHITE CITY - Last year, more than a half-dozen spent bullets fired from a nearby shooting range could be found each week littering the racetrack at Southern Oregon Speedway. "One slug actually hit the side of one of the buildings at the speedway," added Jim Rogers, the track's general manager. The Jackson County Sports Park shooting range at Corey and Kershaw roads is just a quarter-mile away from the speedway. The range and the track are separated by a hill. One portion of the hill, however, dips low enough for bullets to occasionally ricochet off rocks and into the race park. Although safety measures were taken at the shooting range last year, they weren't enough, said Brian McCormick, president of the Rogue Valley Shooting Sports Association. "It only takes one (bullet) at the wrong place at the wrong time," McCormick said. "It's quite a ways away, but a bullet can travel a long distance." To make the park as safe as possible, McCormick said the rifle range - one of three designated areas for visitors - will be torn down next summer and rebuilt north of a private range used by competitive gunmen and police. "This range is too valuable to the shooting public to be lost," McCormick said. "What this is mostly going to do is minimize the risk." The shooting range originally was built and used as a practice area for Camp White soldiers during World War II. Jackson County later took ownership, but seven years ago leased the range to the nonprofit Rogue Valley Shooting Sports Association. McCormick said the association - which manages the range - is made up of volunteers who represent local law enforcement, the Oregon Hunters Association and competitive shooters. The association attempted in the past to solve safety problems by constructing a dirt berm at the rifle area and closing down the range during large speedway events. Berms also were added to areas designated for shotgun users, and another to the range for handguns and rifles. Despite the improvements, the county requested that the association remove its rifle range, said Paul Korbulic, the county's interim director of roads, parks and planning. "It's a safety problem. There's a liability there," Korbulic said. "The intention is to make it better." McCormick said the rifle area likely will be removed this summer. Metal and concrete tables and benches from the range will be salvaged, if possible. The new rifle range isn't finished, although gravel and asphalt have been laid and berms installed. The association wants to build benches, tables and two wooden structures to cover them. However, adding roofs over the area will cost more than $40,000, he estimated. "We're volunteers. It moves much more slowly than we wish it did," he said. "It's going to cost money. I don't know how much." McCormick said the association is looking into several financial alternatives, including community donations, raising rates slightly or seeking grants. Guests to the range are charged $2 for a day pass or $15 for a season pass. Money collected is used to pay for improvements and maintenance. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.