Resident upset weapons are fired near house

John Skully is upset about neighbors firing heavy weapons near his lot in Warsaw Woods Subdivision on St. Paul Road.

He aired his grievances about heavy gunfire within 200 feet of his home to the board of supervisors asking also about ordinances in place that protect residents from possible stray projectiles.

Scully moved to the subdivision in 2007 and his grandchildren like to visit, but he feels firing weapons is jeopardizing the safety and well being of his family.

The county has an ordinance prohibiting firing arms in platted subdivisions with lots of five acres or less.

“I believe it needs to stop,” he said.

He has two tracts that combined are 11.4 acres, he said. He said the lot owner next door is allowing high powered weapons to be discharged on property only 200 feet from his lot line.

He said he and his wife have been suffering since last year when the shooting began. His mother-in-law also is affected.

Because his grandchildren have to stay inside to be safe, his entire family has been suffering, he said.

Skully said his house acts like a drum and the explosions are like percussions. He bought his property to retire in Mississippi.

He said the lot that is being used has a 300foot-wide shooting range where people come out and fire their deer rifles.

The owner of the lot where the shooting takes place does not live on the lot, he said.

“They are turning my back yard into a shooting range,” Skully said. “I know I’m not the only person in the county with this problem.”

He reported his concern to a supervisor and to the sheriff’s department.

District 1 supervisor Charles Terry said the county does have an ordinance prohibiting discharging weapons in a subdivision where lots are five acres or less.

District 3 supervisor Keith Taylor said it is common sense that a high-powered rifle should not be fired in a subdivision with lots under five acres.

“I got a lot of calls,” Taylor said. “I’m not trying to stop them from shooting, but it is unsafe to point a gun at a house. I thought it was 500 feet (the distance that is required to discharge a firearm near a house).”

Board attorney Amanda Whaley Smith referred to the ordinance passed March 18, 2013, that prohibits firing a gun in a platted subdivision with lots less than five acres in size.

‘You have to own more than five acres to shoot,” Taylor said.

“I would think that is clearly in violation of our covenant,” said District 4 supervisor George Zinn III.

Taylor said when a deputy answers a call to such an area, the deputy does not know the lot lines or how big the lots are. He wants deputies to have that information before going out.

Terry suggested Skully be given a copy of the ordinance in case a deputy is called out again. Skully can show the deputy the ordinance.

“I think the shooters need to be notified,” said Zinn.

Taylor wanted a letter sent to the owner of the lot being used as a shooting range.

Smith said a letter can be sent from zoning to the property owner about the ordinance.

“So, if the other party shows up, we have to address this all over again,” Zinn said.

“We’re notifying them of a violation,” Taylor said.

Leland Reed, emergency management coordination, asked the board to put information on zoning and 911 departments on the county website so people who need information about zoning or 911 addresses can research it online.

County administrator Tim Powell said he wants Jay Rowland to update the website.

“A lot of people come to our website,” Reed said. “They call me constantly on addresses.” Smith said the county has a host who manages the website.

Circuit clerk Monet Autry advised the board that 2N Holly Springs precinct will have to be moved to a new location since Rust College has taken over the former polling precinct on MI campus.

She recommended the Marjean Taylor Myatt Head Start Center on West Valley Avenue now housed on the old W.T. Sims Intermediate School campus.

Autry said in August her office will begin qualifying people to vote in the November general election.

She said the precinct was voting at ICS on Rust College property before it relocated. She said she has to move the precinct within a 90-day period through an order of the board of supervisors as required by the Secretary of State’s office.

Zinn asked if it is commonplace to change a precinct location in the middle of an election year.

Autry said it can be changed and the county no longer has to file with the Department of Justice when making a change.

“The only thing I need is to let you know we have to have another facility. When we find it, then you put in a board order,” Autry said.

Autry asked when cameras would be installed at the courthouse.

She said cameras won’t stop anything, but they can be used to find out, after the fact, what happened.

“I hope it won’t take the next six months to get the cameras in place,” she said. “I have major concerns.

“It is very vital in my opinion,” Autry said.

Susie Hill, with the chancery clerk’s office, said quotes have been accepted on the cameras.

Chuck Thomas explained that Joe Fant, who has the quote for installing courthouse cameras, said there has been a delay in the supply chain to get the cameras in stock.