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1. Roanoke City Circuit Court Clerk fixes illegal CHP requirements
2. ACTION ITEM: Sporting clays range in Goochland set to go in front of Board of Supervisors
3. Amherst Board of Supervisors may change discharge rules in county
4. VCU Chief of Police wants input on crime safety
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1. Roanoke City Circuit Court Clerk fixes illegal CHP requirements
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The Roanoke City Circuit Court Clerk was requiring that CHP applicants take their applications down to the Police Academy and get their photographs taken there. Member Jack Doyle had contacted VCDL about this issue a few weeks ago. I then contacted the Circuit Court Clerk, Brenda Hamilton, and also the Police Academy, advising both that the requirements for CHP holders to take their paperwork to the Academy and getting their photographs taken were not legal. The person at the Academy that I spoke to said he would take the information up the ladder. The Clerk said she would be checking into it further.
Jack kept the heat on the Clerk and also had a great idea: he told the Clerk to ask the City Attorney about those extra requirements. That would give her a, hopefully, unbiased opinion on the law.
Jack checked with the Clerk today and she said the problem was fixed. She would stop sending CHP applicants to the Academy and the Academy would no longer be taking any photographs of CHP applicants!
Jack did a great job in following up with the Clerk, as I was sidetracked with other things and it ended up on a back burner. This is often the best way to handle such things: I contact the government official to grease the skids and a VCDL member keeps an eye on the situation and let's me know if the problem is resolved or if we need to escalate.
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2. ACTION ITEM: Sporting clays range in Goochland set to go in front of Board of Supervisors
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Last week the Goochland Planning Commission met one more time on the request for ORAPAX to have a sporting clays range. I was unaware of the hearing until late in the day of the meeting. EM Greg Trojan attend for VCDL and reported back (thanks, Greg!) The hearing was a circus, according to Greg. The vote was 5 to 1 AGAINST the range.
The Conditional Use Permit request now goes before the Board of Supervisors, who can ignore the Planning Commission's negative recommendation if they so choose and approve the range.
Greg noted that the antis turned out somewhere between 75 and 100 people, which was much more than our side had.
WE NEED TO FIX THAT.
I expect the Board of Supervisors to hear the Conditional Use Permit request on Tuesday, December 4th. If you can come to the meeting, please plan on doing so to show support or to speak. We need to outnumber the antis. I will send out an alert once we have a firm date.
In the meantime, if you live in Goochland, contact your Board of Supervisors member to show support for the ORAPAX sporting clay range Conditional Use Permit request.
Here is the Board of Supervisors contact information:
Susan F. Lascolette - District 1
P.O. Box 3
Hadensville, VA 23067
(804) 338-3843 (c)
susanl@co.goochland.va.us
Manuel Alvarez, Jr. District 2
2960 Willow Trace Lane
Sandy Hook, VA 23153
(804) 556-0115
malvarez@co.goochland.va.us
Ned S. Creasey - District 3
2210 Denver Lane
Maidens, VA 23102
(804) 556-3229
ncreasey@co.goochland.va.us
District 4
Robert H. Minnick - District 4
417 Wellfield Road
Manakin-Sabot, VA 23103
(804) 784-5220
rminnick@co.goochland.va.us
Ken Peterson - District 5
P.O. Box 54
Manakin-Sabot, VA 23103
(804) 784-2669
kpeterson@co.goochland.va.us
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3. Amherst Board of Supervisors may change discharge rules in county
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The Amherst Board of Supervisors, with the support of the Sheriff, is looking at changing their hunting and shooting ordinances. Not only for firearms, but also for bow-and-arrows. I will try to get my hands on a copy of the proposed ordinance so I can analyze it. Based on the article below, it looks like it might be two steps forward and one step back.
Once we have a date when the changes will be heard/voted on, I will advise so we can pack the meeting!
Thanks to Hank Dowglelewicz and Walter Jackson for the link:
From the newsadvance.com: http://tinyurl.com/cbr3cwc
The Amherst Board of Supervisors may amend the ordinance that prohibits shooting in Madison Heights.
The action was prompted by input from residents. The county attorney, Ellen Bowyer, drafted a revision to give the supervisors a starting point in their discussion.
The draft states that no one may stand or walk with a loaded hunting firearm on a public highway in Amherst County, except if the highway goes through property on either side on which the person is allowed to hunt.
The section does not apply to people entering or leaving hunting areas or carrying loaded firearms either in moving vehicles or for purposes other than hunting, or to people acting in defense of people or property.
That section would strike a prohibition of hunting within 100 yards of any primary or secondary road in the county.
The amendment would still prohibit shooting firearms, including bows and crossbows with a pull of more than 10 pounds, in District 5 (Madison Heights).
The amendment would allow firing shotguns on private land, provided the shooting is more than 100 yards from the boundary of any adjoining landowner.
It also would allow the killing of deer (one) with a firearm on land of at least five acres that is zoned agricultural or by bow and arrow on at least two acres of land, also zoned agricultural.
The discussion began after a landowner complained that his son and friends had been cited for target shooting on their land within District 5. The charges ultimately were not prosecuted, said the landowner, Mike Lee.
Clearly there are areas [where] you can safely shoot a firearm, Lee said. That land has been hunted on for 40 years, he said.
I think the current ordinance is junk, he said. I think it needs to be revitalized on safety, rather than prohibiting shooting in a specified area such as District 5.
The supervisors reached a consensus to ask the sheriff, Jimmy Ayers, to explain his position on the ordinance.
We ought to afford people the right to shoot, Supervisor David Pugh Jr said. I just hate to take peoples rights from them I think you ought to be able to bow hunt on your property.
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4. VCU Chief of Police wants input on crime safety
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"Chief Venuti wants to hear your suggestion about anything regarding campus safety. Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions that you may have. Chief Venuti will be looking at what you post."
Link to item: http://tinyurl.com/bwznuvs
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