The users of the Buckskin Hills Shooting Range in Uintah County did not stand idly by when they received word that the facility had been severely vandalized with graffiti over the weekend. Instead, a group went to work without being asked and steam cleaned, scraped, sanded and painted everything the vandals had tagged. According to Facilities Manager Derk Hatch, the vandalism occurred
Sunday
night and almost everything was hit. “We have the finest shooting range in the western states and it’s been assembled very inexpensively with volunteered labor and it is better than other facilities that counties have spent millions on,” shares Hatch. “More importantly, it is open for public use at no charge which is unheard of. This may change all that…but I’d like it to remain user friendly, if it won’t be violated.” Hatch also emphasized how impressed he is with the users who stepped in to clean the facility up right away. “They have a real passion to protect what they have there,” shares Hatch. “Members are even standing guard out there throughout the upcoming nights. Each group has worked hard for several years to build their individual areas…I am so happy they show ownership which is so opposite of a sense of entitlement.” The vandalism investigation through the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office is ongoing.
