By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Reno County Sheriff Darrian Campbell said the county has figured out the land it wants to use for its shooting range now that it will have a separate facility from the City of Hutchinson.
"It's right across the street from the landfill," Campbell said. "The county owns a large piece of property that we've acquired for a long-range term for topsoil. In coordination with the director of the landfill, through the County Administrator and the Commissioners, we decided to take a small parcel of that land and develop it into what would fit our needs."
Both agencies will use both facilities, but Campbell said there are some things they want to specifically do with theirs.
"We have some long-range precision shooting that we're able to do," Campbell said. "We'll use the new land for other tactics and maneuvers with our Bearkat and with vehicle assaults or anything like that."
They hope to get to work on the new facility soon.
"It doesn't happen overnight," Campbell said. "We've still got to go and discuss some things. We're talking to engineers, making sure that we do things right. We've got to get other people involved. If all goes well, we can begin doing some dirt work to get things started later in the year and then next year, we'll jump in and start processing some berms and some roads in there."
Both the city and the county have said that they can have ranges more suited to their needs while remaining within their respective budgets.