By JULIE BERTRAND
Independent Reporter
Disgruntled county resident Douglas Cumberland returned to the regular meeting of the county council last Wednesday, Feb. 9, to complain once again about the Stettler Rifle and Pistol Club, which borders his acreage outside of the town of Stettler.
Cumberland asked council again to move the club to another area, arguing that the situation was getting worse for both himself and his neighbours. .
Stressing his belief that more people are frequenting the Stettler range because other ranges were closed in the area one after another over the last two years, Cumberland said there was shooting in the range from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“This is just about every day,” he complained.
“You can’t sit out there and have a barbecue on a Sunday, like everybody else”.
People living around the range often get awakened on weekends by the sound of shooting.
Cumberland is also worried about the safety of the metal targets that the club uses.
“Who’s to say that some day, somebody’s driving down the road and one bullet doesn’t deflect off then and hits something?” he asked council.
Cumberland also said he had found fault with club’s barbed wire fence and the club signs, which he believes to be insufficient.
Citing fishing and game regulations that stipulate no firearm can be discharged within 300 yards of an occupied house, Cumberland said his house was closer than 300 yards.
Council insists it cannot do anything since the club follows all the federal and county rules.
“We gave him a copy of the noise bylaw. If there was a concern that way, we could look at it,” says Tim Fox, CAO.
In 2010, Cumberland had written a letter to Council asking for the club to be moved.
Last December, Council approved a staff recommendation to leave the gun club range at its current location since Cumberland had known about it when he bought the land.
Cumberland said when he first moved there, neighbours’ cows were freely roaming the club’s land.