The County Commission is ready to pass a county resolution next week that would restrict the firing of weapons between the dikes along the Arkansas River county wide.

Many residents were again at the commission meeting Tuesday morning over the issue. In the resolution, it list the term firearm to include any rifle, pistol, revolver, or shotgun.

The resolution indicates that it shall be unlawful for anyone to discharge a firearm within the banks of the Arkansas River, or to discharge from public or private property when the intended target for the firearm’s projectile lies within the banks of the river.

Now those who have hunting license during open seasons on lands and waters designated for public hunting would still be allowed.

Reno County Sheriff Randy Henderson says the concern is more over target shooting. He says there is debris left by the shooters. He says they leave bottles, television sets and propane tanks behind. Clay targets are also left behind.

But, it’s also the issue of safety according to the sheriff and that’s what brought it to the County Commission to consider the resolution. That included a recent incident in Nickerson where a spent round landed on the couch next to a mother with her infant with her. As we have told you in past stories, there have been other reports of the rounds coming close to other homes located near the river. Luckily, none of them enter the homes and no one was struck.

Again, the county is expected to vote on the resolution next Tuesday and according to that resolution, a violation would be considered a class B misdemeanor offense with a possible 6-month jail sentence and thousand dollar fine, or both.