How many citizens of Fayette

County would enjoy listening to repeated gunfire for several hours a day,

while either inside or outside of their home? The residents of The Chimneys,

Wildwood Estates and Millpond Manor subdivisions, as well as hundreds

of other southside residents will soon be subjected to hours of nonstop

shotgun fire from the 4-H Skeet Club now located right off Ga. Highway

85.

The property, owned by Peachtree

City Water and Sewage Authority, is surrounded by the subdivisions, Hwy.

85 South, and the Starr's Mill High School complex. Across Hwy. 85 are

homes built on the minimum 5-acre lots required by this county if one

doesn't live in a subdivision (a requirement intended to keep the county

more rural, more quiet).

That is the exact reason that

so many of us purchased these lots, and built out here to get away from

it all, to enjoy a rural lifestyle.

The 4-H, which was once located

away from residential areas, is now in our midst. They will be shooting

for the next four months, and their practices last for hours several times

a week. You can't escape the sound of constant gunfire; it echoes off

of the trees. You can forget about sleeping in or taking a Saturday afternoon

nap!

The general public has found

this to be a convenient location for their own private use they come out

to fire their weapons at their discretion.

I have been informed by the

county marshal's office and by [Peachtree City] Mayor [Bob] Lenox that

the noise ordinance of Fayette County is not being violated by this type

of disturbance. I disagree. The ordinance reads that in regard to noise

nuisance, it is up to the reasonable person to declare what is allowable.

If a barking dog or a neighbor's

boom box can be deemed as a disturbance of the peace, how much more so

the sound of the battlefield? The sharp reports of ammo being fired as

rapidly as possible is explosive; you cannot push it into the background.

More and more people are moving

into this area of the county. If you were looking to buy a home, would

you want one where you had to listen to a firing range?

Our taxes pay the salaries

of our county officials; they are to look out for our interests, and protect

and promote our quality of life. Allowing a firing range in this particular

location was a bad call. There is an Olympic Skeet range in north Fulton

County, 30 minutes from here.

The 4-H Club needs to find

a location that doesn't compromise our property values and our enjoyment

of our homes.

Nancy Buchanan

Brooks