Reader questions supervisor comments

Assuming Mrs. Renny Humphrey was quoted correctly in the Chesterfield Observer (9/27), one has to wonder what exactly are "items for the Board of Supervisors" if public safety is not? Below is Section 3.5 (c)(4) of the Chesterfield County charter regarding powers of the Board of Supervisors:

"To preserve public peace and good order; to prevent and quell riots, disturbances, disorderly assemblages, environmental hazards and shortages; and the board shall also have the power to adopt such additional ordinances as it may deem necessary for the general welfare of the county."

According to Mrs. Humphrey, because "this happens every fall prior to hunting season," it is acceptable to violate state law and kill deer outside of the legally defined hunting season. Because she "grew up on Beach Road" where this illegal hunting activity occurred prior to hunting season, it is acceptable to spot deer at night, also a violation of state law.

More alarming is Mrs. Humphrey's response to the discharge of a firearm (most likely from a moving vehicle) near a residential property at midnight. Discharging of a firearm within a certain distance of a residential property is also a violation of state law. As explained to me by an officer with the Chesterfield County Police Department less than two years ago, it is illegal to discharge a firearm within 600 feet of a residence. Our home is approximately 400 feet from the roadway.

While spotting deer at midnight with a high-powered rifle is of concern to many of us in western Chesterfield who moved here for the serenity, quiet and pleasure of observing God's creation, including the deer and other wildlife, the primary concern regarding this issue is public safety. Regardless of where you grew up and whether it occurred every year prior to hunting season or not, the violation of state law should not be condoned or treated as a natural consequence of man living in what has previously been the habitat of the animals.

It is disconcerting to have the quiet of the night pierced with an unusually loud noise. It is even more alarming to then learn that the noise that disturbed you and those in your home, was a shot fired from a vehicle, near your home, with the sole purpose to kill one of God's living creatures for the pure fun of it. Had this shot gone astray or struck a tree and ricocheted, it could have come through our bedroom window. That is the issue of prime importance in this matter: public safety and welfare.

Who would have ever imagined that public safety is "not a Board item?"

Bob Herndon

Chesterfield