Shooting Range Decision Delayed

A last-minute lawsuit stops a Sale Creek community from getting the peace and quiet they were hoping for.  It was filed by the owner of a shooting range and prevented a meeting Wednesday morning that might have silenced the shots.

The neighbors appeared before the Hamilton County Board of Zoning Appeals with a petition in one hand and bullets fragments in the other.  "We came down for resolution," says resident Carl Lindkvist.  Homeowner Tim Grace carried the bullet casings in a plastic bag.  "I go out there every once in a while and find them." Grace says he's collected the bullets from his property that borders Dodd and Associates Training Center.

For the past year and a half he and his neighbors have tried to fight the shooting range, saying it's not just a nuisance, it's life-threatening.  "Well it tells me my cows, myself and my wife are in danger," says Grace.  So he and others came Wednesday in hopes that Zoning Board members would reconsider their decision.  Instead, they were stopped before ever getting started when property owner Ronnie Dodd filed an injunction to keep the matter from being reconsidered.  "Evidently our laws aren't here to help us now," says Lindkvist.  "They're going to wait until a decision is made."

When that will happen, nobody knows.  Until it does, neighbors know that nothing will change on the property but are confident the courts will come down on their side of the fence.  "I think if the judge hears the case he'll make the appeals court bring it back," says Grace, "because I don't think it was passed correctly the first time."

But if the decision doesn't go their way they may be the one filing a lawsuit and stuck with a bill they can't afford to pay but can't afford not to, either.  "I got two daughters and you know the economy right now, what do I do sell my tractor?" questions Lindkvist.

Ronnie Dodd did appear before the board today but only to say he had filed the injunction.  His attorney did not comment afterwards except to say they will wait to hear the Chancery Court's decision