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Plane Crashes And Forest Fires Bring Local NIMBYism To A Boil

Posted by: Nate Berg

22 May 2007 - 12:00pm

A string of accidents at a military gunnery range - including numerous missed-target bombings, resulting forest fires, and shots mistakenly fired at an elementary school - have strained relations between the range and neighboring communities.

"The Warren Grove Gunnery Range says it tries hard to be a good neighbor to the growing communities in the New Jersey Pine Barrens."

"The latest hazard caused by the range - a massive forest fire that burned 14,000 acres, damaged or destroyed a handful of homes and forced 6,000 people to flee - underscores the tensions between the base, which trains pilots bound for Iraq and Afghanistan, and the ring of senior citizen developments encroaching ever nearer."

"Last week's fire, threatening thousands of people, seems to have tipped the balance of public opinion."

"Lawmakers from Ocean County are calling for the bombing range to be closed. State Sen. Leonard Connors and Assemblymen Christopher Connors and Brian Rumpf said operations need to be suspended immediately as a prelude to a shutdown."

Full Story: Trying hard to be neighborly
Source: Associated Press via Knoxville News Sentinel, May 21, 2007
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