Jackson County Sheriff to get new shooting range

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Deputies from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department will soon have their own shooting range.

Jackson County Commissioners approved a request from Sheriff Gary Schuette to accept a $70,000 donation from Bailey Excavating to transform an area of land owned by the former Road Commission into a shooting range. The vote happened on June 18.

The new range will be put together on Chanter Rd. in Blackman Township, a memo from Schuette filed with the Commission on May 1 reveals.

A letter from Bailey Construction indicates the range costs will include “gravel road upgrades, new parking lot, clearing land and constructing an earth berm for backstop of the firing line.”

In addition to approving the reuse of the property and the donation to construct the shooting range, Commissioners also approved Schuette spending $7,500 to construct a shed on site as well.

Schuette’s memo reveals the department no longer had access to the city of Jackson’s South Street Shooting Range. Law enforcement officers are required by state certification to qualify on firearms use at least annually he noted and the new range would allow for training as well as practice to assure the deputies in the department maintain proficiency as required for licensing.

Documents from the County Commission reveal the Sheriff’s Department has been reaching out to Blackman Township residents and leaders since March of this year to obtain approval for the project.

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