Graham Unsure About Proposed Training Center

He summed up complaints about a proposed public safety training center near Midland in four words: Noise, traffic, safety, expansion.

Those are the main thrusts of the concerns of the citizens, as well as me, Fauquier Supervisor Ray Graham (Cedar Run District) said.

Fauquier sheriff's deputies and fire and rescue workers from Fauquier, Rappahannock and Culpeper counties would train at the center.

The center, which Fauquier would fund and build, would occupy a portion of Range 82, a privately owned gun range on 50 acres off Route 610.

For months, county staff and Range 82 owner Lee Hollander have worked to develop a plan and lease agreement that would accommodate the center.

Neighbors said expansion of Hollander's operation will further disrupt the community.

Fauquier's board of supervisors will hold a public hearing on the proposed center at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Warren Green Building at 10 Hotel St., Warrenton.

I haven't made up my mind yet about the proposal, said Graham, who represents Midland. There are some good things and some bad things.

Among the good things, such a center would give deputies and fire and rescue workers easier and predictable access to training.

Fauquier public-safety workers train mostly at centers outside the county.

Deputies periodically use the Warrenton Training Center, a federal government facility.

But scheduling time at the training center has proven difficult, according to Sheriff Charlie Ray Fox.

The bad things, as Graham put it, may include increased noise and traffic as a result of expanded use of Range 82.

For the full story, read the June 10 Fauquier Times-Democrat