Forum On Proposed Firing Range Set For This Morning

A forum this morning will cover a proposed shooting range for the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office that has drawn numerous concerns from neighboring residents.

The forum will run from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Grand Jury Room of the Stephens County Government Building in downtown Toccoa.

At the forum, Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley said his office will discuss its plans for a shooting range on property located behind the county road department’s fueling depot, off of Scenic Drive.

“We will give specifics that were not discussed at the commission meeting and certainly want to hear the concerns of the community,” said Shirley.

Back on August 25, Stephens County Commissioners approved a motion to provide property located behind the road department’s fueling depot for a firing range to be built for the Sheriff’s Office.

However, numerous residents in the Scenic Drive area spoke to county commissioners expressing concerns about the proposal at the commission’s August 8 meeting.

Those residents spoke of safety and noise concerns that may affect their residences, as well as for the animals at the nearby Toccoa-Stephens County Humane Shelter.

They called for further study of the site and its feasibility as a shooting range.

Sheriff Shirley said that they did look at the surrounding area before moving forward with the plan and also he says he did not feel the animal shelter would be affected.

After hearing from residents last week, Stephens County Commissioners voted unanimously to halt work on the range until the sheriff could meet with concerned residents.

Again, the forum on the proposed shooting range will run from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Grand Jury Room of the Stephens County Government Building in downtown Toccoa.