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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2018)
6 Wednesday, June 6, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Forest Service closes shooting area near Crossroads By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief The Sisters Ranger District has closed an area west of the Crossroads subdi- vision to shooting due to pub- lic safety concerns. The McKenzie gravel pit, located west of Crossroads near Sisters off Forest Service Road 400, will be closed to shooting due to concerns about conflicts with other rec- reational uses in the area and potential for stray bullets to fly outside the shooting area, the Forest Service reports. According to the Forest Service, for the last several years complaints about irre- sponsible target shooting in the area and reports of close calls from stray bullets have come into to the Sisters Ranger District. Sisters District Ranger Ian Reid told The Nugget that a cyclist reported in January that two bullets had “zipped by” him while he was riding on the Jimerson Trail, which is located about 165 yards away from the gravel pit. The use of the gravel pit as a shooting site predates the 2013 construction of the trail, but Reid noted that when the trail was constructed the pit was closed to the public under the use of a permitee who had a gravel mining and firewood cutting operation there. The area is also used by off-road-vehicle enthusi- asts and will remain open to vehicle use. Shooters who violate the closure are subject to citation. Reid said that Forest Service and Deschutes County Sheriff law enforce- ment officers, as well as an independent party affiliated with NRA shooting sports organizations have reviewed the site and have concluded that the site is unsuitable for safe target shooting, primar- ily because it lacks an ade- quate backstop for bullets and the potential for stray bullets is high. There are two large mounds of gravel, and the north and east sides of the pit feature slopes that form backstops. The south side of the pit facing the Jimerson Trail is more open, making the direction in which shoot- ers direct their fire critically important. The Forest Service had placed signage and maps in the pit to indicate safe and unsafe directions of fire. Those signs were shot up. The Ranger noted that there have also been instances of horseback riders on the Jimerson Trail impacted by gunfire nearby. “It’s a safety thing related to the horses spooking and potentially throwing someone off,” he said. While there have been noise complaints from Crossroads regarding gunfire from the pit, Reid said that those issues did not play into the closure decision, which is based entirely on safety. Reid told The Nugget that, given the public complaints and the assessment that the area is not safe, the Forest Service essentially had to take some action. “If something were to hap- pen in terms of a (member of the) public getting killed or injured, I think we’re hang- ing out there a bit in terms of liability,” he said. The closure is temporary, with a two-year maximum. “The goal is to develop a long-term strategy,” Reid said. Asked whether — since the shooting area was in use first — the Jimerson Trail ¶ The Forest Service has initiated a two-year closure on the McKenzie gravel pit, affecting shooters. The area is still open to vehicle use. might be deviated to skirt the more broadly on the Sisters pit at a greater distance, Reid Rangers District. There are four gravel or said “that’s the kind of con- cinder pits nearby, he noted, versation we’d like to have.” The district ranger said he “all of which are more suit- understands the frustration of able than McKenzie.” Shooting, like hunting, he shooters who have used the pit safely for a long time. And said, “is a legitimate use of he also acknowledged that, the National Forest. It’s a use since shooting is legal across we encourage to have happen the forest, closure of the pit in a safe manner. I think the might disperse the activity intent here is to still encour- into other nearby areas that age and promote recreational shooting in safe areas.” are unsafe. Information on safe shoot- “That’s a possibility — and we’ll be monitoring,” he ing practices on the National Forest can be found at: said. Reid asserts that the clo- https://www.fs.usda.gov/ sure is not an attempt to main/deschutes/learning/ restrict recreational shooting safety-ethics. Easy g! n Parki Investigation: Deputy fired partly due to campaign behavior BEND (AP) — An inves- tigation discovered a former Oregon sheriff ’s deputy’s behavior during his campaign for sheriff is among the rea- sons he was fired. The Bend Bulletin reports an internal investigation released by the Deschutes County sheriff’s office found Eric Kozowski violated office policies by wearing his official uniform at campaign events in 2016. The investigation also noted citizen complaints about Kozowski and determined he had violated office protocol while investigating criminal cases. Kozowski was placed on paid administrative leave in September because of the internal investigation’s find- ings. He was fired January 31. Kozowski’s attorney, Michael McGean, filed a lawsuit in February alleging retaliation and a discrimina- tory interpretation of sheriff’s office policies. 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