Hi All,

   Please see the message below. Thank you,

Mr. Lobdell  and Ms. Volz,
I have been working with Eric Rachman, a recently awarded Eagle Scout in Westfield, and his dad, Bruce, as well as Mike Tully, previously of Ray's Sport Shop, and 4H and other groups and Jean Foley at Union County for the last two plus years developing a Union County Archery Range.

A Union County Freeholder hearing on the subject of the new range will take place on Thursday, March 12^th, at 7pm, in Elizabeth. Ron Zuber is the head of outdoor land development in Union county. He plans to break up the Oak Ridge Golf Course in Clark, now officially out of business. He was contacted by Jean Foley at Parks and Recreation about an archery range being designated as part of the new land use. Zuber welcomes the project because it is of little expense to the county and all the insurance leg work is already done. He gets usage of the property for residents and can collect a fee for non-resident shooters at almost no cost to the county. Zuber will speak to the freeholders with a positive push for the archery range at the golf course site during the March 12th meeting. The freeholders have already supported the concept of a range in Union County and are generally positive on the project. This site is ideal because it can offer flat ground, proper North West orientation, parking, 90 meters with buffers, and is fenced. The county has reviewed the original drawings and is receptive to some additional fence work, benches, and walkways.

We looking for citizen support for this project by asking interested groups to attend the Freeholder's meeting. We need enough people at this hearing to show the sizable support the archers of Union County and the surrounding area can generate for a new archery range. Jean has suggested that we need at least 30 individuals to get the full attention of the Freeholders. We will form a speakers list to voice positive comments at the podium. The leader of each group, including Boy Scouts, will get 2 minutes to speak. We will be coordinating the messages, so that each group stays on the same theme but has it's own point of focus, without wasting time repeating the statements of others.

Mr. Lobdell and Ms. Volz, what we are asking from you is your assistance in supporting the results of Eric Rachman's Eagle Scout project by forwarding this information to the Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops of Patriot's Path Council. We are requesting that any troop available to support this project contact either Eric Rachman or myself to confirm attendance. Getting four to six Scout troops with two to four representatives each, in uniform, to appear at the meeting would show a significant strength of numbers to the Freeholders. Thank you for your time.

Union County Archery Range
UC Freeholder hearing
March 12, 7pm, Thursday
10 Elizabethtown Plaza in Elizabeth, behind the court house, at Rahway Ave/ Broad St intersection

Sincerely,
Jerry Duffey
Bowstick Archery
Bowstick.com
Nattional Archery in the Schools Program, NASP, certified Instructor Trainer.
908-389-1702
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