http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/04/30/1168810/kennewick-hospital-board-to-close.html
KENNEWICK — The Kennewick Public Hospital District voted unanimously Thursday to temporarily close a large piece of land near Hover Park from public use in the wake of the accidental shooting of a 7-year-old boy.
Matthew Cardenas of Pasco was eating lunch in the park with his family in mid-March when he was hit by a stray bullet believed to have been fired from the KGH property off Ayers Road.
A slug later was removed from the boy's thigh at KGH.
Hospital board members said the 8,900-acre parcel -- which has been open for public use -- is a popular spot for hiking, horseback riding, off-roading and recreational target shooting.
But the incident with the boy wasn't the first time a bullet has gone astray, leading board members to worry about their legal responsibilities to people injured in accidental shootings.
"If someone fires a gun and someone is hurt out there, it becomes our liability," said board Vice President Wanda Briggs.
Chuck Barnes, KGH's executive director of support services, said the board discussed closing the land four or five years ago, but decided to leave it open for public use.
KGH CEO Glen Marshall said he has heard arguments from both sides of the issue.
"I have had horse riders tell me they've had bullets fly by their heads," Marshall said. "I've had doctors tell me they don't want us to shut it because they go out there and shoot too. There are all sides to this."
Continued complaints about irresponsible shooting led the board to decide Thursday to post signs forbidding trespassers and discharge of firearms.
The land will be reopened if the hospital district can find a group such as a gun club to lease part of the land and manage it as a shooting range and outdoor recreation spot. Such a group would have to carry its own liability policy to cover injuries.
Board members agreed they want to allow the public to use the land, but in a way that's safer, more structured, and doesn't put the hospital district at risk.
"A lot of people go out there and shoot," said board member Rick Reil. "There has to be some way to still provide opportunities to people and still satisfy liability requirements."
-- Michelle Dupler: 582-1543; mdupler@tricityherald.com
At this point we have heard that there has been a gate put up at Ayers Rd, but we are unsure if they are putting up fencing to remove access from the Hover park side. Anyone local to the area just calls the whole area "Hover". Trashy and I have been out there numerous times with our truck, rodeo and quads. I knew the area was huge - I didn't know it was 8,900 acres. This is quite the loss. The area has a little bit of everything to offer trails, hills, sand, beaches and was a great area for families for orv use, horse back riding, hiking and target shooting which is the most common use. There has been discussion many times that we should put together a work party to go clean up the mess left by shooters and garbage dumpers, but so far everyone has been too busy on other projects to put one together and do the footwork to find out who to talk to about the land owned by KGH.
My biggest issue is though, I have a hard time believing that a little boy sitting in Hover Park (actual) to get shot by a "stray bullet" that was shot from the KGH land off Ayers rd. I could be wrong, because we don't know all of the actual details. But the most common areas people use for shooting are right off Ayers rd and they are shooting into the hillside. Taking a guess, I would say there is at least a mile (by the crow flies) between the most common shooting area and Hover Park actual - and there is a HUGE HILL in between!!
Now don't get me wrong, a 7 year old getting shot is terrible. But there are things with this story that just don't add up, and that upsets me. They closed the land for liability reasons - that just tells me that they are scared of a lawsuit from someone who supposedly wasn't even on KGH land and doesn't know for 100% sure where the bullet came from. I guess this means that if I get shot while wheeling at Naches during hunting season that I can go after the forest service and Washington state because I was on their land.
I can understand KGH's concerns......but why not investigate things a little further before just shutting everything down, and why does it have to be closed to everyone?? Why not just make it no shooting?? Why not have a certain area for people who want to shoot and make sure that "stray bullet's" wont end up in other areas?
Sigh.........goodbye 8,900 acres of fun
