Don Turner, former boss of the Clark County Shooting Park and darling of the gun-nut circuit, pulled the plug on his career with the failed park today. (RJ)
Naturally we are told that his resignation had nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with recent questions raised about the rather odd idea that cash-strapped citizens of Clark County should continue throwing bad money after bad into the park, despite rumors that the Clark County Commission has plans to rename the spot the North Valley Lead and Money Pit. My, no! It must simply be a complete coincidence that Mr. Turner decided to leave just as County Commission Steve Sisolak began complaining about the load sucking sound coming from the base of the Sheep Mountains.
Not to worry, Commissioner Tom Collins assures us. All we have to do is hire marketers to sell the place. Besides, we are told, the park isn’t simply about making money.
For Collins, the shooting park is not just about making money. He’s put so many hours of work into it and so much of his well-known cowboy character is built into it, it’s become his hill to die on. (Sun)
No doubt the vast majority of Clark County citizens who are funding the park–and who will never visit it–will be rather puzzled about why they are funding the thing if not to make money. Is it meant instead to serve as the equivalent of a Presidential Library for Mr. Collins, a mausoleum to preserve his quirky legacy?
Or is it simply a nice backdrop for filming some campaign film at county expense, like this:
Huh, wonder what targets Mr. Collins used to shoot in the Wash? Mammoth fossils, maybe?
Granted, the clip above is not the best performance delivered by the Commissioner. It hardly rivals this:
No doubt Mr. Turner won’t be needing a U-Haul to leave Vegas, given how well he was paid by the County for his work on the park. Not everyone lost money on the deal, it seems.
First of all I want to say that yes, the facility is beautiful and there is a gorgeous view of the City lights at night when you are up there. I am going to state facts here and that is it. Those of you who just do not want to believe will not, but I am numbering the FACTS: 1. The Recreation Fund has had 1.4 million dollars transferred or given to the CCSP to keep it operational until June 30, 2011. 2. The Fund is now depleted. 3. The Recreation Fund consists of the money that League Sports parents pay for their kids to play League Sports such as Little League, Soccer, Football, etc…. So the $125.00 sign up fee or whatever you pay, goes into the Recreation fund. 4.Safekey money paid by parents goes into the Recreation Fund so yes, anyone paying into Safekey is helping to fund the CCSP. 5. That is a gun range and not a park – look in the dictionary for a definition of the word p-a-r-k. Again, it is a shooting range not a park. Pure fact by definition. 6. Something has to be done to keep it solvent and take the onus off of the taxpayers. Why aren’t they giving discount to the shooters who are regulars and go more than 9x? If they are discounting nonprofit organizations for that many visits, then those taxpayers who are already paying for the place deserve a discount, too. Many go every weekend so why shouldn’t they get a break, too? Every one of us taxpayers should be upset about this. Wasn’t this Park built for the Nevada/Las Vegas citizens to use? Wasn’t this built as an answer to keep people from shooting in the desert? You know, you all keep mimicking the “safe place to shoot” rhetoric fed to you, but you could shoot just as “safely” in other shooting ranges here in town.
The fact that Tom Collins is involved in the management of the Shooting “Park” explains why its failing as a public investment. Mr. Collins is no businessman, which is probably why he got into politics. We need better managers in Clark County. Kudos to Steve Sisolak. He is the only current Commissioner with any capacity to think past the next election.