(WA) Another Shooting Range Potentially Lost.....

Drizzt · July 5, 2002, 09:42 AM

Copyright 2002 Spokane Spokesman-Review
The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wa.)

June 29, 2002 Saturday Spokane Edition

SECTION: VALLEY VOICE; Pg.V4

LENGTH: 1258 words

HEADLINE: Valley shooting match;
Owner says county wants to shut him down; county says they just want owner to follow the rules

BYLINE: Lorie Hutson, Staff writer

BODY:
A feud brewing in the shadow of Mica Peak is threatening to close down a
shooting range after two decades.

Neighbors hate it. For years, they have complained to Spokane County about
the gunfire that echoes through their valley. They worry about safety, fires
and the value of their property and have circulated petitions trying to close
it down.

After investigating the complaints, the county is asking that the Mica Gun
Range get a new permit in order to remain in operation.
The proprietor of the gun range, Joel Carr has been allowing shooters to
practice their aim against the hillsides on his 320 acres since the early
1980s.

He received a letter from Spokane County in late 1982 that acknowledges his
"grandfathered" rights to keep it open, after county laws were changed to
require any new gun ranges to get a permit from the county.

Thin with a grizzled beard, Carr's appearance, and the Colt .45 sidearm on
his hip, initially alarm people who don't know him. Most of those who do,
accept him as unkempt and slightly eccentric.

In two decades, little has changed about his range, said Carr, who is 67.
If anything, he said, he's scaled it back. Now, most days shooting isn't
allowed until 2 p.m. and is cut off at dark. He used to allow shooting from
sunup to sundown, he said.

Spokane County officials disagree.

They have periodically checked on the Mica Gun Range as neighbors lodged
complaints to make sure it is still following county laws.

Last year, planners notified Carr that they found the gun range has been
expanded beyond the grandfathered rights he was given and asked him to apply
for a new permit.

The report said that Carr was allowing the use of high-powered and
black-powder rifles on a range off Chapman Road which was not listed on a
survey and site plan filed with the county in 1984. The report also said he
was allowing rifles on a smaller range off Jons Road that was clearly marked
as a "pistol only" range.

Carr refused.

"Aren't we stretching things a little?" Carr asked. "Doesn't the county
have better things to do?"

Rifles have always been allowed on the ranges. It is not a change, Carr
said. He's adamant that the range should be able to keep running as it always
has, and he's stubborn.

The site plan the county is using wasn't even associated with the original
county ruling to allow Carr to keep operating the gun range. It was submitted
later when gun club members asked for a building permit, Carr said. The gun
club member who drew the map of the range inadvertently labeled it as a pistol
range, even though rifles were always used there.

In fact, city, county and state police officers have practiced on those
ranges, including the Spokane County SWAT team, Carr said, although they are
not using it anymore.

Since Carr hasn't applied for a new permit, county planners turned the case
over to a prosecutor. Late last year, Carr was charged with a misdemeanor
crime for expanding the use of the range without getting approval, ''unlawful
expansion of a non-conforming use."

Carr was scheduled to have a court hearing this week, but the deputy
prosecutor filed a continuance as part of an effort to reach an out-of-court
agreement on the Mica Gun Range.

The court hearing was rescheduled for late July.

Carr said officials are trying to force him to apply for a new permit so
there can be a public hearing on whether the range should be allowed. That
would give neighbors who have complained over the years a chance to ask for
limited hours and other changes.

''The county is just trying to close us down," Carr said.

Commissioner Kate McCaslin said the county doesn't want to shutter the gun
range. Officials just want Carr to follow the rules.

''Unfortunately we have a lot of complaints against him. We can't just
ignore the neighbors," she said.

Longtime residents closest to the gun range said it's about time for one of
those hearings.

Agatha Carroll and her husband Bob have lived just across Chapman Road from
Carr's land for 26 years.

She said they were never notified that he was planning to open a gun range.

''It's constant shooting. There is never a day out of 365 that they don't
shoot out here," Agatha Carroll said.

They've called police about the cars parked at the range that are sometimes
blocking the road and the incessant noise, but nothing helps, she said.

The shooting has killed real estate deals for people who try to sell so
they can leave, Carroll said. ''I hope they close him down."

Don Sheard lives just east of the gun range. He's been there 43 years.

His son, D.W. Sheard, lives on the hillside just north of the range.

They helped circulate petitions for the signatures of people who would like
to see the range closed.

''It not just me," said Don Sheard. ''It's all the people around here.
There isn't anybody out here that wants it," he said.

Carr said the Sheards didn't start their campaign against the range until
after he had a falling out with Sheard's daughter and son-in-law, Diane and
Lance Latta.

The Lattas were part of the Spokane Valley Rifle and Pistol Club, which
used to be part of the Mica Gun Range. Carr won a small claims suit against
the couple in 1996. ''They've been pretty hard to get along with ever
since," Carr said.

Carr also has a videotape taken by people who were shooting at the range
that shows D.W. Sheard writing down license plate numbers and cursing at
people.

Diane Latta said Carr's suggestion that her father and brother are fighting
the range on her behalf is ludicrous.

''To me that is crazy. They have lived in that area since long before the
lawsuit," she said.

Latta said their dispute with Carr began over plans to include sport clays
shooting at the range.

Club members decided to use the club's money to buy some equipment for
sporting clays, but Carr didn't agree with the decision, Latta said.

He filed the lawsuit against the Lattas for the money that was spent on
sporting clays equipment and won.

Latta said Carr later forced them to leave the club and they haven't been
back since.

There is another family connection in the feud. Carr is married to Don
Sheard's sister, although both men have been estranged from her for several
years.

It's the people who shoot at the range who will lose if it is closed, said
Bill Buteaux, president of the Mica Peak Marshals, a cowboy single-action
shooting society.

The club uses guns or replicas of weapons that were built before 1900 to
re-enact Old West style shooting. The members must dress the part and they
shoot at steel targets from store fronts painted to look like saloons and
jails.

Buteaux said the guns are all chambered to use pistol ammunition and are
much lower power than today's rifles. The group also follows strict safety
standards during its twice-monthly shoots at the Mica Gun Range.

Club members would have to drive to Farragut State Park in Idaho or to
Wenatchee to hold their events if the Mica range were closed.

''If we lose it, we're done," Buteaux said.

They have hired a lawyer to help Carr fight the charge against him. Carr is
acting as his own attorney.

''We are doing everything we can, but the whole crux of the matter is that
they've always shot rifles here," Buteaux said.

Mike Weber · July 5, 2002, 10:37 AM

This range is close to where I live I would hate to see it go. This county has gone out of its way in the last few years, to close off as much of the county as possible to public shooting. This is a largly rural county.

This one hits really close to home because this is the home range of the club that I shoot with. I'll be shooting there tomorrow morning.

riverdog · July 6, 2002, 08:45 AM

Looks like time for your club/club members to begin buying up real estate. South Bay R&G in San Diego did exactly that with an irritable neighbor. When his property went up for sale (noise, traffic etc) the range worked a deal and bought the place as a buffer -- double as a club recreation facility and RV park for shooters. Just a thought.

KEN CHAVEZ · July 6, 2002, 06:31 PM

We are having the same problem with a shooting range in our area! The liberal politicians are giving them a hard time, and are trying to shut them down.

Steffy · June 11, 2016, 11:36 AM

Sure is old, like 14 years - but:

The SVR&PC is still around, Joel B Carr is still in charge, is the land owner and is the treasurer controlling all the clubs money.

The SVR&PC is one of the few rifle ranges in the area, one other being the Fernan Rod & Gun Club, located on USFS land, north of Fernan Lake, east of Coeur d' Alene ID. The Fernan range is about 37 miles from Spokane.

The future of the SVR&PC is sort of cloudy. The SVR&PC, to my best knowledge, does not have a lease with the 81 year old Joel B Carr allowing it to use the facilities. Upon Mr. Carr's departure for any reason it is likely that the club will go away.

This is sad because the area will really be short of places to shoot.

The article in the Spokesman Review was essentially correct. The surrounding residents don't like the range. Mr. Carr has run the range for decades - does not allow any creature to be killed on his property, cautions shooters to not park on the road, allows shooting from 2:00 PM to dusk, and minds his own business and expects others to do the same.

It is true that some bad blood has occurred between Mr. Carr and the Sheard's mostly because of Small Claim Court Judge Wilson's ruling against the Latta's/Sheard's. As best as I can remember some club officer (fool) brought the suit against the Latta's. Whatever happened to that officer? One of the Sheard's stated "no more apple pie for you (Carr) when it was done.

The SVR&PC, if it is to survive needs to lease some ground further south like in Freeman 20 miles down the road and be run professionally.

July 5, 2002, 09:42 AM	#1
Drizzt Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2000 Location: Moscow on the Colorado, TX Posts: 2,560	(WA) Another Shooting Range Potentially Lost..... Copyright 2002 Spokane Spokesman-Review The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wa.) June 29, 2002 Saturday Spokane Edition SECTION: VALLEY VOICE; Pg.V4 LENGTH: 1258 words HEADLINE: Valley shooting match; Owner says county wants to shut him down; county says they just want owner to follow the rules BYLINE: Lorie Hutson, Staff writer BODY: A feud brewing in the shadow of Mica Peak is threatening to close down a shooting range after two decades. Neighbors hate it. For years, they have complained to Spokane County about the gunfire that echoes through their valley. They worry about safety, fires and the value of their property and have circulated petitions trying to close it down. After investigating the complaints, the county is asking that the Mica Gun Range get a new permit in order to remain in operation. The proprietor of the gun range, Joel Carr has been allowing shooters to practice their aim against the hillsides on his 320 acres since the early 1980s. He received a letter from Spokane County in late 1982 that acknowledges his "grandfathered" rights to keep it open, after county laws were changed to require any new gun ranges to get a permit from the county. Thin with a grizzled beard, Carr's appearance, and the Colt .45 sidearm on his hip, initially alarm people who don't know him. Most of those who do, accept him as unkempt and slightly eccentric. In two decades, little has changed about his range, said Carr, who is 67. If anything, he said, he's scaled it back. Now, most days shooting isn't allowed until 2 p.m. and is cut off at dark. He used to allow shooting from sunup to sundown, he said. Spokane County officials disagree. They have periodically checked on the Mica Gun Range as neighbors lodged complaints to make sure it is still following county laws. Last year, planners notified Carr that they found the gun range has been expanded beyond the grandfathered rights he was given and asked him to apply for a new permit. The report said that Carr was allowing the use of high-powered and black-powder rifles on a range off Chapman Road which was not listed on a survey and site plan filed with the county in 1984. The report also said he was allowing rifles on a smaller range off Jons Road that was clearly marked as a "pistol only" range. Carr refused. "Aren't we stretching things a little?" Carr asked. "Doesn't the county have better things to do?" Rifles have always been allowed on the ranges. It is not a change, Carr said. He's adamant that the range should be able to keep running as it always has, and he's stubborn. The site plan the county is using wasn't even associated with the original county ruling to allow Carr to keep operating the gun range. It was submitted later when gun club members asked for a building permit, Carr said. The gun club member who drew the map of the range inadvertently labeled it as a pistol range, even though rifles were always used there. In fact, city, county and state police officers have practiced on those ranges, including the Spokane County SWAT team, Carr said, although they are not using it anymore. Since Carr hasn't applied for a new permit, county planners turned the case over to a prosecutor. Late last year, Carr was charged with a misdemeanor crime for expanding the use of the range without getting approval, ''unlawful expansion of a non-conforming use." Carr was scheduled to have a court hearing this week, but the deputy prosecutor filed a continuance as part of an effort to reach an out-of-court agreement on the Mica Gun Range. The court hearing was rescheduled for late July. Carr said officials are trying to force him to apply for a new permit so there can be a public hearing on whether the range should be allowed. That would give neighbors who have complained over the years a chance to ask for limited hours and other changes. ''The county is just trying to close us down," Carr said. Commissioner Kate McCaslin said the county doesn't want to shutter the gun range. Officials just want Carr to follow the rules. ''Unfortunately we have a lot of complaints against him. We can't just ignore the neighbors," she said. Longtime residents closest to the gun range said it's about time for one of those hearings. Agatha Carroll and her husband Bob have lived just across Chapman Road from Carr's land for 26 years. She said they were never notified that he was planning to open a gun range. ''It's constant shooting. There is never a day out of 365 that they don't shoot out here," Agatha Carroll said. They've called police about the cars parked at the range that are sometimes blocking the road and the incessant noise, but nothing helps, she said. The shooting has killed real estate deals for people who try to sell so they can leave, Carroll said. ''I hope they close him down." Don Sheard lives just east of the gun range. He's been there 43 years. His son, D.W. Sheard, lives on the hillside just north of the range. They helped circulate petitions for the signatures of people who would like to see the range closed. ''It not just me," said Don Sheard. ''It's all the people around here. There isn't anybody out here that wants it," he said. Carr said the Sheards didn't start their campaign against the range until after he had a falling out with Sheard's daughter and son-in-law, Diane and Lance Latta. The Lattas were part of the Spokane Valley Rifle and Pistol Club, which used to be part of the Mica Gun Range. Carr won a small claims suit against the couple in 1996. ''They've been pretty hard to get along with ever since," Carr said. Carr also has a videotape taken by people who were shooting at the range that shows D.W. Sheard writing down license plate numbers and cursing at people. Diane Latta said Carr's suggestion that her father and brother are fighting the range on her behalf is ludicrous. ''To me that is crazy. They have lived in that area since long before the lawsuit," she said. Latta said their dispute with Carr began over plans to include sport clays shooting at the range. Club members decided to use the club's money to buy some equipment for sporting clays, but Carr didn't agree with the decision, Latta said. He filed the lawsuit against the Lattas for the money that was spent on sporting clays equipment and won. Latta said Carr later forced them to leave the club and they haven't been back since. There is another family connection in the feud. Carr is married to Don Sheard's sister, although both men have been estranged from her for several years. It's the people who shoot at the range who will lose if it is closed, said Bill Buteaux, president of the Mica Peak Marshals, a cowboy single-action shooting society. The club uses guns or replicas of weapons that were built before 1900 to re-enact Old West style shooting. The members must dress the part and they shoot at steel targets from store fronts painted to look like saloons and jails. Buteaux said the guns are all chambered to use pistol ammunition and are much lower power than today's rifles. The group also follows strict safety standards during its twice-monthly shoots at the Mica Gun Range. Club members would have to drive to Farragut State Park in Idaho or to Wenatchee to hold their events if the Mica range were closed. ''If we lose it, we're done," Buteaux said. They have hired a lawyer to help Carr fight the charge against him. Carr is acting as his own attorney. ''We are doing everything we can, but the whole crux of the matter is that they've always shot rifles here," Buteaux said. __________________ "That a free citizen should have to go before a committee, hat in hand, and pray for permission to bear arms - fantastic! Arm your daughter, sir, and pay no attention to petty bureaucrats." Robert Heinlein - Red Planet

July 5, 2002, 10:37 AM	#2
Mike Weber Senior Member Join Date: April 24, 2002 Location: Northern California Posts: 238	This range is close to where I live I would hate to see it go. This county has gone out of its way in the last few years, to close off as much of the county as possible to public shooting. This is a largly rural county. This one hits really close to home because this is the home range of the club that I shoot with. I'll be shooting there tomorrow morning. __________________ M. Weber "Molon labe" http://shootersfreehold.com/ A place for firearms enthusiasts to congregate. Last edited by Mike Weber; July 5, 2002 at 12:22 PM.

July 6, 2002, 06:31 PM	#4
KEN CHAVEZ Senior Member Join Date: May 5, 2002 Location: MIDWEST, USA Posts: 250	We are having the same problem with a shooting range in our area! The liberal politicians are giving them a hard time, and are trying to shut them down. __________________ KEN C.

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July 6, 2002, 08:45 AM	#3
riverdog Senior Member Join Date: August 11, 2000 Posts: 824	Looks like time for your club/club members to begin buying up real estate. South Bay R&G in San Diego did exactly that with an irritable neighbor. When his property went up for sale (noise, traffic etc) the range worked a deal and bought the place as a buffer -- double as a club recreation facility and RV park for shooters. Just a thought.

June 11, 2016, 11:36 AM	#5
Steffy Junior Member Join Date: June 11, 2016 Posts: 9	Sure is old, like 14 years - but: The SVR&PC is still around, Joel B Carr is still in charge, is the land owner and is the treasurer controlling all the clubs money. The SVR&PC is one of the few rifle ranges in the area, one other being the Fernan Rod & Gun Club, located on USFS land, north of Fernan Lake, east of Coeur d' Alene ID. The Fernan range is about 37 miles from Spokane. The future of the SVR&PC is sort of cloudy. The SVR&PC, to my best knowledge, does not have a lease with the 81 year old Joel B Carr allowing it to use the facilities. Upon Mr. Carr's departure for any reason it is likely that the club will go away. This is sad because the area will really be short of places to shoot. The article in the Spokesman Review was essentially correct. The surrounding residents don't like the range. Mr. Carr has run the range for decades - does not allow any creature to be killed on his property, cautions shooters to not park on the road, allows shooting from 2:00 PM to dusk, and minds his own business and expects others to do the same. It is true that some bad blood has occurred between Mr. Carr and the Sheard's mostly because of Small Claim Court Judge Wilson's ruling against the Latta's/Sheard's. As best as I can remember some club officer (fool) brought the suit against the Latta's. Whatever happened to that officer? One of the Sheard's stated "no more apple pie for you (Carr) when it was done. The SVR&PC, if it is to survive needs to lease some ground further south like in Freeman 20 miles down the road and be run professionally.