New firing range means better trained law enforcement in Valley

YOUNGSTOWN

With their own firing range near headquarters, Mahoning County deputy sheriffs can now train more fully and in less time.

“We’ve become a better-trained department using less resources than we were in the past,” said Sgt. Steven Lindow, head firearms instructor at the range, which is off West Avenue near the Mahoning River.

“Being this close to the sheriff’s department, we can qualify a lot more guys with a lot less time,” Lindow said, referring to the county jail at 110 Fifth Ave., where most deputies are based.

The proximity of the range to headquarters reduces travel time and puts the deputies back on their regular jobs sooner, said Deputy Robert Russo, vice president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 141, which sponsors the range.

Before the Youngstown range opened in the summer of 2013, the deputes had to schedule their firing time and travel to an Austintown range that was crowded with law enforcement personnel from other agencies.That range closed last year, Russo said.

More than 300 Mahoning County deputy sheriffs must redemonstrate proficiency annually on the firing range to retain their authorization to carry guns, Russo said.

“It’s really a convenience thing,"said Sheriff Jerry Greene. “It’s our range the entire year.”

“We also encourage everybody to come shoot as much as they possibly can above and beyond the minimum requirements,” Lindow said.

The opening of the range was facilitated by Bruce Zoldan, B.J. Alan Fireworks Co. president, who leases the land to the deputies for $1 a year; Youngstown State University, which donated soil excavated from its athletic complex west of Fifth Avenue; and Ohio Edison, which donated and anchored into the ground the utility poles that hold targets.

Read more about the new range in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.