Youngstown leaders say open firing range will undermine downtown revitalization efforts

YOUNGSTOWN

Participants in a June Eagle Scout project and a December hike along the Mahoning River heard the staccato sound of gunfire. They couldn’t immediately identify the source, but they later learned it came from a nearby law-enforcement firing range.

“We heard what we thought at first was fireworks. Some of our adult leaders realized that was not fireworks,” said Byron Harnishfeger, scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 60 based at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Boardman.

Harnishfeger was part of a group rebuilding a dock on the south side of the river at West Avenue, which was Daniel Raver’s Eagle Scout project, during the annual Riverfest event at the B&O Station Banquet Hall.

A Scout parent, Fred DeLuca, who is a former Mahoning County sheriff’s deputy, called Sheriff Jerry Greene to inquire about the gunfire, and the group learned it originated from the Fraternal Order of Police firing range on West Avenue on the north side of the river, which is used by deputies and local police for firearms training and qualification.

The issue resurfaced when Mark Ingram of Boardman e-mailed Robin Lees, city police chief, to report that he heard gunfire while hiking with a brother from out of town and his wife Dec. 26 on a riverfront trail from the B&O to West Avenue.

“We all found the gunfire unnerving,” Ingram told the police chief.

“A bunch of different groups, including the city, have been working to make the riverfront more accessible and an asset to the city. This recurring gunfire from the north side of the river works to undermine these efforts and objectives,” complained Ingram.

Read more about the matter in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.