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Civilians warned away from range



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The Associated Press
The Associated Press
The Associated Press - Published: November 22, 2009

JERICHO — The Vermont National Guard wants hunters and other civilians to stay off its firing range.

The Ethan Allen Firing Range covers 11,000 acres in three towns: Bolton, Jericho and Underhill. The federal property is used as a training site for soldiers preparing for missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, but officials say they've been dealing with an increase in trespassers.

Lt. Col. Matthew Fitzgerald said six intruders have been caught trespassing since early October, including three men using an ATV to drag away a deer they had shot.

Fitzgerald says the trespassers are putting both themselves and the soldiers at risk of injury. In one incident, a soldier had to take cover when hunters began shooting from 50 yards away.








READER COMMENTS


It never ceases to amaze me how stupid some people can be. The fence and signs are there. The warnings have been posted in the papers and on TV so what is there problem. Is it that they don't think that the law applies to them.

I'm sure that if they had had a mortar round land among them when they were dragging the deer their next of kin would be all weepy and want to sue the Govt. I would think that trespasing on an active federal reservation would be a serious charge. I certainly hope that their ATV, rifles and hunting licenses have been confiscated permanently.

The last thing the troops need to worry about as they train for Afghanistan or Iraq is some yahoo stupid hunter in Vermont shooting them before they even leave the state.
-- Posted by northstar62 on Sun, Nov 22, 2009, 6:28 am EST

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