Is Jerome County Shutting Down Shooting?
By Staff
The Jerome county commissioners intend to vote Monday morning to send a letter to Idaho Department of Lands requesting their help to restricting shooting near the Snake River Canyon.
MagicValley.com reports:
Commissioner Charlie Howell drafted the letter to IDL, saying that recreational shooting currently allowed on IDL property north of the river endangers visitors to the canyon park. Visitors must travel over a road on IDL ground to reach the park.
Commissioners plan to draft a county ordinance to curb shooting on Bureau of Land Management-owned ground leased by Jerome County.
The problem is that everything has been done behind the scenes. Public input has not been garnered and most folks don’t know about the proposed shooting ban. It would seem that Commissioner Howell may have forgotten those little rules.
Commissioner Cathy Roemer is quoted as saying:
“….Commissioner Howell has been leading the charge on this and it has been done all behind the scenes, never posted on the agenda for full Board discussion and public input. Then, I get the letter on my desk that was drafted . There was no Board discussion about did we even want to write such a letter or adopt an ordinance. I just got tired of it and contacted the media. I was tired of being railroaded on this. The public has a right to know what their elected officials are doing.”
We have good people willing to go to the meeting on Monday morning, but they should not go alone. Join them if you can.
The 3%ers Idaho will be present at the meeting. They are committed to defending the 2nd amendment and a process of transparency in Idaho.
Tell your Commissioners how you feel about their making new regulations without going through the process they are paid to do. The public needs to know! The public has a right to speak on the issue.
The meeting is expected to be live streamed on Facebook through Redoubt News for everyone that cannot make it.
The meeting is on Monday @ 8:30 am
Jerome County Courthouse
300 North Lincoln
Jerome, ID 83338
See the agenda here: http://www.jeromecountyid.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_12042017-276
You get the government that you allow.
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I hate to say anything publicly, but important facts have been misrepresented. It is disappointing the issue has been painted in this manner. It is difficult to address all of the issues here, but here goes.
I am a 100% no compromise, 2A person. I am small government guy and have a long track record of scrutinizing all levels of the government. In the 90s I was ‘threatened’ by an Attorneys General because of my criticism of educational standards and the abuse of the standard board.
I believe open meeting laws are not stringent enough and put my money where my conscience is. Standing on the principles readers hold dear has cost me two jobs. Once when the quiet, private practice of my first amendment rights drew ridicule and penalties at work. The second time when my I exposed the abuse of power, open meeting violations, and abuse of female employees by an agency director. The abuse occurred while board authorities willfully ignored the plight of staff.
It is with great frustration that I see the facts in this case blatantly misrepresented by individuals who know better.
1) no gun ban had been suggested or will be implemented (ever), in fact the Parks Board (who have oversight of the area) intends to develop shooting ranges and hopes to accommodate multiple shooting groups including western shooters, long-range, pistol and shotgun. Tactical activities will not be excluded.
2) nothing has been done in secret, all of the Jerome County Commissioners have been involved with the discussions for two months.
3) The Parks Board is still in a stand up phase and very few meetings have occurred. Those meetings are posted in the court house, the county is setting up a website to post meeting agendas and minutes and all user groups are welcome to participate on the Park Board and public solicitation for user group committee will occur when the board has elected its chairperson.
4) the Park Board wants to see the property cleaned up and accessible to all recreation groups. Unfortunately unethical gun owners are endangering individuals such as off road users, hikers, horse back riders, and responsible target shooters. Commissione Roemer has made clear that she does not want to see taxpayers burdened with the clean up and maintenance of the property. I agree, however that also limits the options available to maintain the park in the pristine shape it once was.
5) In order to not burden tax payers for the maintaining the property, user groups will have to assist with cleanup and maintenance, but before those groups or individuals will commit to operating the park, the Park Board has to assure fair, equal, and safe access which PROBABLY means restricting shooting in some areas, not banning guns, or restricting rights.
6) the letter is seeking permission or authority to restrict shooting in some areas, a decision to restrict has not happened and will not happen without public input. Any proposal to restrict shooting is specific areas is contingent on the establishment of shooting ranges before those restrictions occur.
7) Not all recreational activities are compatible. Common sense tells us you cannot play baseball and football on the same field at the same time. Like wise, you cannot have an offroad event occurring while target shooters are setting up steel on the course.
If anyone has questions, I would encourage you to contact the interim chair-person Roger Morely.
Stuff happens, but as a general rule and in support of that which is not misanthropic taking some preventative measures to avoid some innocent person getting shot is probably wise.
I moved off grid in a sparsely populated valley about 2.5 years ago…within the first year I was walking down by the railroad tracks when all of a sudden three people opened up with their guns on the opposite side of a twenty foot hill about 400 yards away…I could hear quite a few bullets whizzing over my head. In their defense they had probably been hunting rabbits there for years. I yelled out loud and in a moment those three hunters appeared like wraiths on the hill crest. I waved and continued on my way. No harm done…but multiply that by an increase in a number of gun shooters and a number of other people using the land…and the odds increase as to an accident happening.
And accidents do happen. I about killed one of my best friends with a double barreled shotgun when I was 14. We were out goose hunting and he went through a barbed wire fence then I went through using the shotgun as a prop…and the shotgun went off into the ground without my pulling the trigger…but the shotgun being used on the fence…had the tilt of the barrel been up just four inches it would have went off right into his back about 25 feet away. He turned and never said anything…and I just cursed and I guess am the only one who knew what really happened. But it chills me to my marrow all these years later…I wholly trade one of my nine lives that no harm was done. And have ever since been very sensitive to where my barrel is pointed at all times…and conversely where other peoples barrels are pointed.
All it takes is once to make a sad accident..and the less inexperienced the more likely to be arrogant.