Petition appears for borough shooting range

To the editor:

I recently noticed a Mat-Su Borough shooting range petition appearing in our sporting goods stores and at the Mat-Su Shooting Range.

Where did that come from?

It turns out it is an initiative of Taffina Katkus and one I believe will finally give all sportsmen a useful long-range shooting facility. Katkus initiated the petition after having worked with the borough for two years at her recent barbecue campaign kickoff. The approach includes borough-held meetings to gather comments from all interests followed by selection of a place to build.

I want a non-government sporting group like the Mat-Su Valley Sportsmen to manage the facility. I think everyone concerned wants us to have a designated place for shooting in a safe manner, away from city development and yet close enough for all to enjoy. I am so thankful that we have a leader like Taffina Katkus sitting on the city council and I hope she becomes the next Wasilla mayor.

Collection of signatures in a public process is finally under way.

Please watch for the petition and sign it. We need a safe shooting range for all handguns and long-distance rifles.

Support your Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms!

John Clayton

Wasilla