Citizens address hog barns and Shooting Sport Park issues at commission meeting

Approximately 50 concerned citizens showed up at the Carroll County Legislative Body meeting Monday night to discuss two different issues they felt needed addressing – one was the proposed hog barns in the Big Buck Community and the other was the safety issue at the Carroll County Shooting Sport Park.

Billy Webb, who lives in the Big Buck community, spoke during the Concerned Citizens portion of the meeting.

Reed Austin, whose father John Austin, is a county commissioner, is proposing to build hog barns in the community  and raise 5,000 pigs that will be furnished by Tosh Farms of Henry.

According to Webb, there are 41 homes within a mile of these proposed barns.

He said farmers who live near one of these type barns in other communities have advised the Big Buck community residents to fight it.

He said it is understood that commissioners have said they have no control over it and can’t stop it.

“We also realize that if Reed is bound and determined to do this, we probably can’t stop him,” said Webb. “But I tell you this, I promise you we will explore every legal option to stop this before or after they are built. We will monitor our wells and ground water, keep odor logs, and look every day for any potential violations.”

He added that a lawsuit would probably be filed over the issue and would be handled by a law firm that specializes in such matters.

“This lawsuit may be widely publicized and could have a negative impact on our county as a whole from people who might have wanted to move here to businesses and industries who wanted to locate here,” said Webb. “This will never be over for Reed and I have told him this.”

Cindy Sanders, who lives on North Fork Creek Road, spoke during the Citizen’s Forum, concerning the safety issue at the Shooting Sport Park.

She said she and her husband were out by their shop on May 16 at 6:15 p.m. when they heard a bullet come whizzing by them.

“May first reaction was shock and my second was anger,” she said. “A police officer came and took a report.”

She said her sister-in-law, Dianne Pritchard, who lives across the road from her has been dealing with this problem for several years.

When you review the layout of the shooting range on Google maps you can see that the long distance rifle section is in direct line with both the Sanders and Pritchard properties.

“As our elected officials, I am asking for your support and backing to ensure that this unsafe practice is corrected before anyone is hurt or killed,” she said.

Dianne Pritchard, who spoke about the Shooting Sport Park, said her residence on North Fork Creek Road, has been hit three times.

“I’m really concerned,” She said. “I know at some point, somebody is going to get hurt.”

She read a statement from Malcolm Pearson, who owns Carroll Hardwood located in the immediate area, who said he felt there was indeed a safety hazard and feared that some of his employees might be hit by gunshot.

Paul Hasselbrink, who lives in the area of the Shooting Sport Park, spoke about the danger.

“It’s a design flaw,” he said. “It’s pointed at the houses and needs to be changed.”

Derek Skelton, who lives at 1610 Industrial Drive, said he heard two bullets while fishing in a nearby pond.

“I have twin boys and the range is in direct line of my house,” he said.

County Mayor Joseph Butler said the rifle range has been closed.

“It has been closed indefinitely until maybe other measures can be put in place,” said Butler who noted the county does not own the park, but does have funds in the budget to operate it.

   Commissioners passed the five resolutions that were presented at the Resolutions Committee meeting.

•A resolution to amend fees, rules, and regulations for the Civic Center. The changes include a $300 per day fee for the Civic Center and $200 per day for the Exhibit Building for any profitable organization using the facilities and charging an admission fee; $200 per day for the Civic Center and $100 per day for the Exhibit Building for use by non-profit organizations, religious entities, cultural or fraternal groups, civic groups or clubs, general public meetings, or family reunions provided that no admission is charged; and no fee for schools, city governments, and county government for use of the Civic Center, Exhibit Building, or fairgrounds.

• A resolution to accept a $100,000 impact payment from the Carroll County E911 Board for the purchase of emergency communications equipment.

• A resolution to transfer $2,000 in donations received from the Huntingdon Elks Lodge for the purchase of personal protective equipment for the Carroll County Fire Department.

• A resolution to amend line items budgeted for the Prevention Coalition account by $5,712 in the current fiscal year budget to account for funds received from the state.

• A resolution to transfer $9,740 in insurance money received for water damage at Carroll Academy.

The rules were suspended in order for commissioners to vote on six more resolutions that were presented at the last minute. County Mayor Joseph Butler said they were time sensitive and needed to be acted upon.

All of them involved budget amendments except one that changed the name of the Clarksburg Utility District to the South Carroll Utility District because it serves more than just Clarksburg.

Elected as notaries were; Kim A. Callahan, Jennifer Carroll, Cristy L. Gooch, Karen Hilton, Angela Hollowell, Daneld hollowell, Sandra Reynolds and Chuck Sisson.