The Ketchikan Police Department is setting up a gun range by the dump. Police Chief Jeff Walls announced that the plan was moving forward at the monthly “Ketch-Up” meeting on Wednesday. Walls said it is the first time the department will have its own shooting range, which will open new opportunities for the department.
“We have the area that’s been out there by the dump, but we haven’t had our own range. It’d be a savings for us in some ways, and also help with training and be able to do different training that we weren’t able to do before,” said Walls.
The future home of the range is city-owned land south of Ketchikan, uphill from the U.S. Coast Guard base. That’s located directly across the Tongass Narrows from the houses around Whisky Cove on Pennock Island.
According to Walls, it is just a matter of moving some dirt around at the site to create a berm. A berm is a high dirt embankment used in shooting ranges to stop bullets. Walls said they are going to be building that berm even higher to limit noise.
“We’re going to be above where the Coast Guard base is, where they have a range, on the dump side,” Walls added. “And then one of the things we’re doing is once we get set up, we’re going to do some testing and we have someone on Pennock Island that we’re going to be actually working with to see if they can hear anything or what is the cause of the least amount of sound anywhere.”
One citizen on Wednesday night asked about another type of resident that may be disturbed by the noise: bears. She said the dump is bear country and wondered if the department will erect fences to prevent any wildlife from catching a stray bullet.
The Coast Guard already has a shooting range in that area. Walls said the police department will take effort to ensure their berm is high and their range will cause the least amount of disturbance.
The police chief also announced another addition to the department: an official police dog will be joining their ranks. Walls said to look out in the near future for a call to the public to help them name the canine.
