From the Prince Georges Journal, October 31, 2000
Publication=Prince_George's_Journal; Date=31.10.2000; Section=Front_Page;
Page=1; Book=A;
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Gun club to close temporarily
Safety concerns prompt shutdown of gun club
Public trail to open Saturday next to shooting range
By AMY DOMINELLO Journal staff writer
A Bowie-based gun club has been ordered to temporarily stop shooting because
the club failed to build bullet-proof barriers on land adjacent to a
county-owned trail.
A temporary restraining order has been issued against the Berwyn Rod and Gun
Club by Prince George's County Circuit Court Judge Herman C. Dawson to stop
all shooting at the club by the end of the day Friday. The order came at the
request of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, which
owns the walking trail adjacent to the facility.
The trail is scheduled to open Saturday to the public, said Adrian Gardner,
a lawyer for the commission.
Gardner said $4 million in county, state and federal money has gone into the
6.1-mile, county portion of the trail that stretches from Lanham to Bowie.
The county portion is part of a larger trail along the old Washington
Baltimore and Annapolis railway, which is in turn part of a larger system of
trails that runs along the East Coast.
Gardner said the Park and Planning Commission has been working for the past
15 months to ready the trail for the public, including building a noise
barrier near the gun club.
The rod and gun club agreed to build a baffling system in March, Gardner
said. The baffling system would prevent bullets from straying onto the path
of the trail.
According to a copy of the agreement, the first baffling system was required
to be substantially built by Aug. 1. The complete system was to be built by
June 1, 2001.
Gardner said the Park and Planning Commission felt they needed to file the
restraining order because there is "no way [the club] can get it done on
time."
He said the club has not met their part of the agreement, causing the
commission to take them to court.
"They have a different sort of interpretation of their obligation," said
Gardner.
Thomas E. Dernoga, the lawyer for the Berwyn Rod and Gun Club, said it is
the Park and Planning Commission staff members who have interpreted their
agreement differently.
Dernoga admits that the first barrier closest to the trail should have been
built, but says the club has shut down shooting on that range.
"The first phase of improvements are not done and they've shut down that
range," he said. "But that portion of the agreement should not be extended
[to all the ranges]."
Dernoga said the club has submitted plans to build the barrier and is
waiting to get permits from the county.
He added that the club has three ranges of 50, 100 and 200 yards and that
the three ranges are about 20 to 30 feet below the actual trail.
"They're down in a hole," he said. "You would have to shoot well upward to
hit a person. Park and Planning is making this sound like it's death waiting
to happen."
Dernoga says the club, which has been in operation since 1952, follows
strict bylaws that prohibit them from shooting upward.
But Gardner said the commission is aiming on the side of caution.
"We have to be aggressive when public safety is concerned," he said.
Gardner said the commission will be seeking a permanent restraining order to
prevent any shooting from taking place at the club until the baffling system
is erected.
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Copyright - The Journal Newspapers
Byline=AMY_DOMINELLO; Aspect=AMY_DOMINELLO; Aspect=Prince_George's_Journal;
Aspect=31.10.2000;
Aspect=Front_Page; Aspect=1; Aspect=A;
Publication=Prince_George's_Journal; Date=31.10.2000; Section=Front_Page;
Page=1; Book=A;
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Gun club to close temporarily
Safety concerns prompt shutdown of gun club
Public trail to open Saturday next to shooting range
By AMY DOMINELLO Journal staff writer
A Bowie-based gun club has been ordered to temporarily stop shooting because
the club failed to build bullet-proof barriers on land adjacent to a
county-owned trail.
A temporary restraining order has been issued against the Berwyn Rod and Gun
Club by Prince George's County Circuit Court Judge Herman C. Dawson to stop
all shooting at the club by the end of the day Friday. The order came at the
request of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, which
owns the walking trail adjacent to the facility.
The trail is scheduled to open Saturday to the public, said Adrian Gardner,
a lawyer for the commission.
Gardner said $4 million in county, state and federal money has gone into the
6.1-mile, county portion of the trail that stretches from Lanham to Bowie.
The county portion is part of a larger trail along the old Washington
Baltimore and Annapolis railway, which is in turn part of a larger system of
trails that runs along the East Coast.
Gardner said the Park and Planning Commission has been working for the past
15 months to ready the trail for the public, including building a noise
barrier near the gun club.
The rod and gun club agreed to build a baffling system in March, Gardner
said. The baffling system would prevent bullets from straying onto the path
of the trail.
According to a copy of the agreement, the first baffling system was required
to be substantially built by Aug. 1. The complete system was to be built by
June 1, 2001.
Gardner said the Park and Planning Commission felt they needed to file the
restraining order because there is "no way [the club] can get it done on
time."
He said the club has not met their part of the agreement, causing the
commission to take them to court.
"They have a different sort of interpretation of their obligation," said
Gardner.
Thomas E. Dernoga, the lawyer for the Berwyn Rod and Gun Club, said it is
the Park and Planning Commission staff members who have interpreted their
agreement differently.
Dernoga admits that the first barrier closest to the trail should have been
built, but says the club has shut down shooting on that range.
"The first phase of improvements are not done and they've shut down that
range," he said. "But that portion of the agreement should not be extended
[to all the ranges]."
Dernoga said the club has submitted plans to build the barrier and is
waiting to get permits from the county.
He added that the club has three ranges of 50, 100 and 200 yards and that
the three ranges are about 20 to 30 feet below the actual trail.
"They're down in a hole," he said. "You would have to shoot well upward to
hit a person. Park and Planning is making this sound like it's death waiting
to happen."
Dernoga says the club, which has been in operation since 1952, follows
strict bylaws that prohibit them from shooting upward.
But Gardner said the commission is aiming on the side of caution.
"We have to be aggressive when public safety is concerned," he said.
Gardner said the commission will be seeking a permanent restraining order to
prevent any shooting from taking place at the club until the baffling system
is erected.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Copyright - The Journal Newspapers
Byline=AMY_DOMINELLO; Aspect=AMY_DOMINELLO; Aspect=Prince_George's_Journal;
Aspect=31.10.2000;
Aspect=Front_Page; Aspect=1; Aspect=A;