Union County Sheriff’s Office Firing Range Holds Grand Opening
Union County Sheriff’s Office Firing Range in Monroe, NC.
The Union County Sheriff’s Office hosted a Grand Opening Ceremony June 27, 2018 to unveil its new, state of the art, fully baffled, 100 yard firing range. The ceremony included remarks from Sheriff Eddie Cathey, County Manager Cindy Coto and County Commission Chairman Jerry Simpson. In addition, Bobby Cummings of Clark Nexsen spoke about some of the key features built into the range design. Cees Justen, President of Pro Construction spoke about some of the challenges faced during construction, including the amount of rock that had to be removed before pouring the footings.
Sheriff Cathey, accompanied by the county manager and county commissioners, cut the ribbon to officially open the range.
Groundbreaking for the range occurred in 2016 but discussions and planning for the facility began as early as 2005. The range sits on 161 acres of land located at 1424 Mills Harris Road, just outside of Wingate. Future plans include an outdoor learning center and a shoot house, along with setting up temporary classrooms using several mobile homes acquired through Union County Public Schools. Long range plans include a permanent training classroom and eventually a driving pad that will accommodate other county personnel, including EMS, Fire Departments, Transportation, school bus drivers and law enforcement officers.
Although the range is not open to the public, plans are for it to operate as a regional law enforcement training facility, allowing all municipal police departments in Union County to train at the facility, along with other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
Sheriff Eddie Cathey stated, “We are very proud of this range and certainly recognize all of the hard work of so many people who helped make this possible. Clark Nexsen and Pro Construction did a tremendous job working with many of our personnel along with Union County Public Works. Our county manager, the county commissioners and the neighbors on Mills Harris Road have been very supportive throughout this entire process and we hope this range provides more opportunities for training so we can better serve our citizens.”
From the Union County Press Release