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No target practice in subdivisions By SUE WATSON
Staff Writer The
Marshall County Board of Supervisors has approved an ordinance that
will prohibit discharging of firearms in platted subdivisions. The
motion to restrict firearms target practice in subdivisions followed
complaints of residents in David Cove and elsewhere, according to
supervisor George Zinn III. Supervisor Keith
Taylor reported a complaint from his district where a couple moved into
a subdivision and invited friends out to shoot. Zinn asked would the supervisors recommend to ban firing of weapons altogether or just based on certain acreages. Supervisor
Ronnie Joe Bennett suggested that there be no restriction on how large
a lot a person owns, saying the county could be at risk for lawsuits if
someone shoots into an area like a woods and someone is struck with a
bullet. “In a lot of complaints I have gotten, there was alcohol involved,” Taylor added. The ordinance against firearms would include penalties and the county would issue a ticket, said board attorney Kent Smith. Supervisors
discussed a complaint from neighbors in a subdivision where a property
owner is operating a vehicle painting business. They voted to ask for a
restraining order on the business owner to stop the operation. The
owner had gone to justice court twice and paid fines but continued to
run his business, said zoning director Conway Moore. Supervisors
said that in some cases fines at justice court are not stiff enough to
deter people from violating the civil statutes and Smith recommended in
such cases that the board ask the court for a restraining order. In
cases of firing of arms in subdivisions, the violation would be a
criminal one and a misdemeanor, Smith said. In
cases where an individual violates a restraining order, the individual
can be charged with contempt of court and can be ordered to serve six
months in jail, he said. In another matter, the
board held a public hearing on Section 105 clean-up orders on three
properties. Moore reported that lots at Oakwood and Holiday
subdivisions had been cleaned but one parcel at Oakwood Drive had not
had the grass and weeds cut. Bids were opened and Southern Soil
Constructioin was awarded the job for a bid of $600. Supervisors
motioned to table bids on a lot at 211 Rayford Road because the bids
were too high. The road and bridge department will research how the lot
can be cleaned cheaper and the bill applied to the lot owner’s property
tax as a lien. The board then approved a public
hearing and bid advertisement for the cleanup of tall grass and of a
swimming pool on a property in Taylor’s district that has been taken
back by a mortgage company.
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