Subject: The Wire!: Balanced Rock Regulators'
March 2008 Newsletter...
From: thewire@balancedrockregulators.com
Date: Wed, March 12, 2008 11:57 pm
To: autosendmaillist <telegraph@balancedrockregulators.com>
From The Wire!
The official newsletter of events and happenings of Carbon County,
Utah's Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) chapter.
Special to this month... the return to Cowboy
Action Shooting's roots at FOUR MILE HILL!
-=> On February 15, 2008, the
Balanced Rock Regulators called the North Springs Shooting Range to inform
them that as it was third weekend we were going to come out as per our agreement
for our shoot on February 16, 2008.
In the call, we voiced several safety, operational and bias issues and
reminded them of an accident at last month's shoot due to the Cowboy Town
boardwalk's being partially covered with deep snow and ice. In return, the
rangemaster kept interrupting and stated that we were nitpicking and that
he didn't care to hear what we had to say and that we could clean the range
ourselves. Then the call further escalated which I then ended.
Afterwards, the rangemaster first declared the Balanced Rock Regulators
banned from the North Springs Shooting Range and then later just the Group's
Officers of Bobcat and Kitty... all allegedly with Commissioner Burge's
support and that we had to beg the Commissioners for permission to enter
a range that charges admission and was built and funded with government,
tax and tourism monies. SueAnn Martell and myself, Darrin Teply, then received
multiple phone calls at our work from interested parties, that bluntly,
we still have no idea who they all are! Yes, a month later we are still
receiving questions from interested parties... and the "certified official
letter" that was supposed to arrive stating the rangemasters' opinion
and our "status" still hasn't arrived a month later.
In short, we verbally disagreed with the rangemaster over the phone,
we committed no safety violations nor damaged/vandalized the range and then
with less than 24 hours notice of a shoot we were banned... so much for
the First and Second Amendments! Thus, we can only assume that the Balanced
Rock Regulators were being chased off of a County facility by the rangemaster.
So on February 16, 2008, instead
we had a meeting of members and interested parties in Helper to discuss
the situation and we had our potluck lunch there. Opinions ran the gamut
to see how far the rangemaster is going to continue to carry this situation,
to searching for another shooting venue, to Heritage Week performances and the future of range
demonstrations. In the following weeks we have been finding out about further
allegations of the rangemaster's bias against the Balanced Rock Regulators
and receiving other's (mostly by chance) complaints about the range.
Further, the whole situation screwed up a surprise visit by people from
Colorado that wanted to see the county's "flagship of tourism"
(the North Springs Shooting Range) and shoot with the Balanced Rock Regulators
and then see a Helper building that they wanted to invest in! We can't even
express the incredibly bad image for Carbon County that was presented.
One of our members went out to the range that Saturday to see what was
happening and to catch CAS shooters out there and fill them in on what was
happening. Instead, he found a member of the other CAS group shoveling the
roofs of the Cowboy Town's buildings... and that was it... so instead of
13 shooters (most of which were now meeting in Helper) the range had two
people on a holiday weekend.
The main thing that we learned from Saturday, February 16th's meeting
is that without the range, we can still get together as a group, have fun
and not be harassed, nor be stressed and still pick up 3 NEW paying members...
however, hearing the North Springs Shooting Range's follies is not a good
image for first timers. Another nice surprise was one of our new members
brought some of her beautiful pistols for me to identify and okay for CAS
and personal use.
Speaking (Kitty and Bobcat) as published tourism, tourism venue management
experts and business professionals with more than 30 years of combined experience,
the North Springs Shooting Range is being terribly underutilized and suffering
from poor visitation and even poorer, biased management.
Thanks to Commissioner Milovich for taking the time to work out this
situation.
No targets were harmed in the production of this non-shoot and the County's
reputation suffered from a metaphorical "black eye."
-=> Last issues' interactive results:
Yes, we received many more questions about Cowboy Action Shooting
which will appear on the "CAS 101" page... as soon
as Bobcat has time to put it together... so keep those questions coming!
A new name for The Wire! Newsletter... with the current
change in shooting location we decided that it'd be better to keep the name
this month as it's "name recognizable."
The .22LR question was answered positively when people started
calling on cell phones last month from Wal-Mart's sporting goods section
wanting to know which brand to buy or producing boxes at the meeting in
Helper.
-=> Our next shoot is Saturday, March 15th,
2008 with setup at 9am and the shooting beginning promptly at 10am.
We will be shooting 5-6 scenarios (depending on range conditions). PLEASE
NOTE: Due to increased problems with the North Springs Shooting Range WE
WILL BE USING THE OLD RANGE AT FOUR MILE HILL with Commissioner Milovich's
blessing. Don Burge (Stargazer) has stated that this will be a return
to CAS' origins in Carbon County as we will be using a hodgepodge of paper,
cardboard, milk jugs and metal targets set out at safe distance. Bring camp
chairs and tables. Location directions will be posted at the bottom of our
website's front page. Lunch will be "Standard Potluck."
If you can't make it to our next shoot, we will shooting every third
Saturday of the month. Our next shoot will be April 19, 2008 -- come
on out and really see the other side of Cowboy Action
Shooting!
-=> The Utah War has moved it's location
and date! Months earlier, The Utah War is now April 17-19, 2008 and
it's being held in St. George by the Dixie Desperadoes. Details and a Utah
War pdf registration form can be found at the their website www.dixiedesperados.com! There are also a couple of
convenient links on our website.
-=> The Notice Post -- Additional
posted notices are at the bottom of the front page of the website. One of
our new members is looking for a cheap no-frills lever action carbine/rifle
that he and his wife can buy... must be in .45 Long Colt. And another member
has for sale a Cabela's .50 cal Black Powder Hawken Traditional Rifle,
NIB $300.00. New for sale: a pair of batwing chaps for $100. Captain
Tim says that he'll modify them to fit all heights of Cowboys and Cowgirls.
In the mean time, inquiries or information can be sent to The Wire!
and I'll forward it on.
-=> Membership and Fees to the Balanced Rock
Regulators -- Individual Annual Memberships are $24 per year
with no $8 fee for the month that you join. There is an additional $2 fee
for non-members. Family/Household Annual memberships are $42 per year
with no $8 fees for the month that you join. Year long memberships start
with the month you join and you get a Balanced Rock Regulator ID card
(with your picture on it -- either e-mailed to us or taken by Bobcat or
Kitty) usually the following month, thus proving when you paid your membership
and that you are a member! You will never experience any of this I joined
in November and I'm being hit up again in January for the full amount problem
-- your membership card proves that you're a member for a full year. Balanced
Rock Regulators' membership
cards examples can be found on our website's F.A.Q.s page. Fees
cover Balanced Rock Regulator insurance, registrations, props, targets,
projects and future shoots. Because we are using the Old Four Mile Hill
Range there is no additional $4-$5 variable site fee! Shooters new to the
sport of Cowboy Action Shooting get their first two or three scenarios free.
"A Fool's Paradise is a Wise Man's Hell" -- Dr. Daniel Jackson,
Anthropologist.
Bobcat Tepes
Balanced Rock Regulators, LLC Vice President
"Honesty, Ethics, Camaraderie & Spirit of the Game"
(435) 472-6666
email: thewire@balancedrockregulators.com
website: http://balancedrockregulators.com
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Cowboy Action Shooting. |