Sunday, November 02, 2003

By M. Ferguson Tinsley, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

After a court decision a few weeks ago prompted the removal of barriers from the Butler-Freeport Community Trail, Tom Dittman, a quad enthusiast, decided to see how far he and a friend could ride their recreational vehicles along the abandoned rail bed that stretches from Freeport, Armstrong County, to Butler.

Starting in Buffalo Township, they rode on the finished section of the trail toward Butler to the Summit municipal building, where the trail hasn't been cleared.

After a couple of miles on the brush-covered path, they saw a sign warning trail users: "Caution, Rifle Range Next 3/4 Mile."

Shocked, they decided against going farther.

"Our first thought was 'How can you practice caution on a rifle range?' " said Dittman, of Murrysville. "Do you drop down and crawl? We decided to turn around and go back."

The sign was put up by the Summit Township Sportsmen's Club off Herman Road, which lies next to the trail and has been around for more than 35 years, said Nelson "Sonny" McKissick, a board member for the gun and archery club.

When members target practice, they stand about 150 yards from the trail path and shoot parallel to the trail, he said.

"We're grandfathered in," he said, explaining that the property lines for the 53-acre club existed before the trail was conceived.

The caution sign and one that tells trail users, "You Are Now Leaving Rifle Range" have been up for almost nine years, he said. "A bunch of young kids ride their quads around back there, and we wanted to warn them that the range is there."

About 16 miles of the 20.7-mile Butler-Freeport trail has been prepared for public use, but the section north of Summit had been barricaded by owners of the land that abuts the rail bed. The landowners opposed the trail's creation, saying the land reverted to them when Conrail abandoned it, and the trail was delayed for nearly a decade because of lawsuits.

On Oct. 11, trail volunteers removed the barrier near the Summit municipal building after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal filed by the landowners.

The trail corridor is owned by Buffalo, Jefferson and Winfield.

Buffalo Solicitor Larry Lutz said he heard about the rifle range for the first time on Monday.

"My instructions from the [Buffalo] supervisors is to work this thing out," Lutz said, adding that he hopes to sit down with club members to come up with a solution.

McKissick said a recent survey of the rifle club's property shows that the eastern line runs down the middle of the old Conrail train bed, but club members, who number 425 to 450, never opposed the trail.

"We're not that type of group," he said. "We want to get along with everybody. We feel that the more people who come out to enjoy the environment, the better."

McKissick said club members met with the volunteer group that is creating the trail early in the trail's development. At that time, trail council President Ron Bennett spoke of the council paying to reposition the range to face away from the trail, McKissick said.

"But we don't know if they can afford that," McKissick said.

Bennett could not be reached for comment.

The disputed Butler-Freeport Community Trail first made the news in 1994 when the group of landowners filed suit.

In 1997, a Butler County Common Pleas Court judge ruled against the landowners, and three years later, the property owners put barricades along the northern part of the trail to block the work.

Buffalo filed for an injunction against the trail opponents that year. After the state Supreme Court upheld the injunction in January, an attorney for the landowners moved to have it reargued.

When that failed, the attorney, William C. Smith, asked that it be heard at the U.S. Supreme Court. On Oct. 6, the Supreme Court rejected Smith's appeal.

The most recent action affecting the trail came Oct. 22 when Buffalo sought an injunction in Butler County Common Pleas Court against the Serene Valley Golf Course because patrons drive golf carts on the trail and hit balls across it, Lutz said. The injunction was granted, he said.

M. Ferguson Tinsley can be reached at mtinsley@post-gazette.com or 724-772-0167.

Rifle range near trail

has township seeking solution

By M. Ferguson Tinsley

Post-Gazette Staff Writer

After a court decision a few weeks ago prompted the removal of barriers from the Butler-Freeport Community Trail, Tom Dittman, a quad enthusiast, decided to see how far he and a friend could ride their recreational vehicles along the abandoned rail bed that stretches from Freeport, Armstrong County, to Butler.

Starting in Buffalo Township, they rode on the finished section of the trail toward Butler to the Summit municipal building, where the trail hasn't been cleared.

After a couple of miles on the brush-covered path, they saw a sign warning trail users: "Caution, Rifle Range Next 3/4 Mile."

Shocked, they decided against going farther.

"Our first thought was 'How can you practice caution on a rifle range?' " said Dittman, of Murrysville. "Do you drop down and crawl? We decided to turn around and go back."

The sign was put up by the Summit Township Sportsmen's Club off Herman Road, which lies next to the trail and has been around for more than 35 years, said Nelson "Sonny" McKissick, a board member for the gun and archery club.

When members target practice, they stand about 150 yards from the trail path and shoot parallel to the trail, he said.

"We're grandfathered in," McKissick said, explaining that the property lines for the 53-acre club existed before the trail was conceived.

The caution sign and one that tells trail users, "You Are Now Leaving Rifle Range" have been up for almost nine years, he said. "A bunch of young kids ride their quads around back there, and we wanted to warn them that the range is there." About 16 miles of the 20.7-mile Butler-Freeport trail has been prepared for public use, but the section north of Summit had been barricaded by owners of the land that abuts the rail bed. The landowners opposed the trail's creation, saying the land reverted to them when Conrail abandoned it, and the trail was delayed for nearly a decade because of lawsuits.

On Oct. 11, trail volunteers removed the barrier near the Summit municipal building after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal filed by the landowners.

The trail corridor is owned by Buffalo, Jefferson and Winfield.

Buffalo Solicitor Larry Lutz said he heard about the rifle range for the first time on Monday.

"My instructions from the [Buffalo] supervisors is to work this thing out," Lutz said, adding that he hopes to sit down with club members to come up with a solution.

McKissick said a recent survey of the rifle club's property shows that the eastern line runs down the middle of the old Conrail train bed, but club members, who number 425 to 450, never opposed the trail.

"We're not that type of group," he said. "We want to get along with everybody. We feel that the more people who come out to enjoy the environment, the better."

McKissick said club members met with the volunteer group that is creating the trail early in the trail's development. At that time, trail council President Ron Bennett spoke of the council paying to reposition the range to face away from the trail, McKissick said.

"But we don't know if they can afford that," McKissick said.

Bennett could not be reached for comment.

The disputed Butler-Freeport Community Trail first made the news in 1994 when the group of landowners filed suit.

In 1997, a Butler County Common Pleas Court judge ruled against the landowners, and three years later, the property owners put barricades along the northern part of the trail to block the work.

Buffalo filed for an injunction against the trail opponents that year. After the state Supreme Court upheld the injunction in January, an attorney for the landowners moved to have it reargued.

When that failed, the attorney, William C. Smith, asked that it be heard at the U.S. Supreme Court. On Oct. 6, the Supreme Court rejected Smith's appeal.

The most recent action affecting the trail came Oct. 22 when Buffalo sought an injunction in Butler County Common Pleas Court against the Serene Valley Golf Course because patrons drive golf carts on the trail and hit balls across it, Lutz said. The injunction was granted, he said.

M. Ferguson Tinsley can be reached at mtinsley@post-gazette.com or 724-772-0167.

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