The Day - April 3, 2008

Changes At Ledyard Rifle Range On Target With Nearby Residents
By Amy Renczkowski

Ledyard - Luanne Hespeler said this week residents of the Wolf Ridge Gap subdivision got almost everything they wanted after filing a lawsuit against the Ledyard Sportsmen's Club and the town.

Although the Connecticut District Court ruled in February against the residents' cease-and-desist order until the lawsuit is resolved, the court documents outline measures the gun club has taken. It has placed better enclosures for its rifle range so bullets can't leave the property and changed where shooters aim so the subdivision is "no longer in the line of fire."

Hespeler said residents couldn't ask for more.

"We definitely feel safer, and we feel our property values are being restored," Hespeler said. "Our intent was not to close down the club."

In the decision to deny the residents' cease-and-desist order, Judge Thomas P. Smith said the Connecticut State Police investigated all the residents' concerns and were unable to validate the Wolf Ridge complaints and identify the gun club as the source of neighbors' problems.

In Luanne and John Hespeler's federal lawsuit, which they filed with 11 neighbors on May 21, 2007, they claim that stray bullets from the membership-only firing range were hitting homes in their neighborhood and endangering the lives of residents.

The court, however, ordered The Ledyard Sportsmen's Club rifle range, located at 10 Whipple Road, to file quarterly briefs about the safety parameters it has in place.

"They're being watched and baby-sat by the federal court," Hespeler said. "It's unbelievable... . That makes such a statement."

When The Day asked to see the club's new safety measures, Joe Trudelle, chairman of the club's board of directors, said only members were allowed on the property. He referred questions to the club's attorney, Brian W. Smith. Smith did not return several phone calls.

The rifle range is 400 yards long and is situated on the club's premises, about a mile south of the subdivision.

The club opened in 1969. The Wolf Ridge Gap subdivision was approved in December 1994. The town permits the use of firearms on private property and hunting in designated areas.

Several houses and businesses in Ledyard Center, where the 10 single-family homes on Wolf Ridge Gap are located, have in recent years been hit with bullets. In one incident on May 31, 2006, a bullet struck a window at Thomas Lewis' dental office at 10 Fairway Drive. Lewis, now retired, sued the club; his lawsuit is awaiting trial.

Meanwhile, according to court documents, the club has shifted target positions so that the direction of fire is to the northeast. Behind the targets, there is a newly constructed backstop that is 17 feet high in addition to a natural ridge that is 60 to 70 feet high. The club also installed overshoot protection and an electronic gate to keep the premises safe and secure.

The club has also instituted a "no rapid fire" rule, limiting the number of rounds fired to one shot per second.

Hespeler said she and others repeatedly asked for added safety measures at the club but were ignored until they hired an attorney and filed the lawsuit.

a.renczkowski@theday.com

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