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NPCCC's Newsletter for January, 2010
Hello everyone! Hope you all had safe, happy Holidays and sneak in some shooting/hunting during this winter. Although the weather has been snowy and cold, spring is right around the corner and all our shooting disciplines are preparing for another great season for 2010! Last year we made some big changes on our range that you should be aware of. We have expanded/rebuilt the safety area to accommodate our ever growing membership and shooting match participants. In addition, a separate, unloading/loading area has been constructed, for use by all those who arrive in our parking area carrying their loaded guns and want to use them in the match. On match day, all loaded guns must be unloaded and secured before entering the range area. Our trap area has never looked better with the addition of an overhead structure, concrete shooting positions and a barrier behind which to put the wobble trap. As a part of NPCCC's ongoing safety action plan, Rick Allison put together a safety power point presentation that reviews all the NPCCC rules and regs, as well as is a review of our updated facility. In the past, each year, members were asked to review the clubs' rule and regs. This year, in order to renew your membership for 2010, members will be required to view the powerpoint presentation and take a brief test afterward. The safety power point will be presented at the February and March monthly meetings. Our 2009 ended with NPCCC hosting over 50 handgun, shotgun and rifle matches. If you haven’t had the opportunity to get involved in IDPA, Trap, Cowboy Action, Steel Plate and/or USPSA competition, you really ought to give them a try. Each one of these shooting sports will not only enhance your shooting skills, but will strengthen your safety, gun handing and defensive skills. Not to mention just learning to become completely familiar with the guns you own/carry and use for self defense. It doesn’t matter if you are new to competition or just want to try a different shooting discipline. Come out to watch a match or better yet, give the guys a hand to set one up and meet the friendly, hardworking shooters that make all of our events happen. If you can’t help set up a match, you can always participate as a safety officer, record times and scores, organize or generally just help out in any way. Come out and support your club by participating in the shooting competitions and activities we sponsor. The next time you attend one of the NPCCC competitions/events, Cowboy Action, Trap, IDPA, Steel, USPSA, Picnic, Work party, Highway cleanup, 4H, etc., take the time to thank the people that made it possible. Without their tireless effort, we all would be just shooting into a paper target in front of a dirt hill. We all owe a great deal of thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make our monthly and specialty events happen. Our president, Jim Coons and Jeff Stack continue their tireless and never ending effort to provide assistance to all our local Police Departments with training and qualification at the NPCCC range. Don't forget the monthly meetings that are held the 2nd Tuesday of each month (Feb 9th, *March 9th, April 13th, May11th, June 8th), at 7pm, at the NPCCC clubhouse. (Locations for the Dec and Jan meetings will be at the Hobart PD training facility located within WestField (SouthLake) Mall. The Feb and March meetings will be at the Valparaiso Police Dept at 355 South Washington Street, in Valparaiso). One of our most important events at our March 9th meeting will be the election of club officers. Do your part, step up and take one of these positions and make a difference in your club. Come and support your candidate(s) for they are/will be the leadership of the club. As a large portion of this meeting is devoted to the election, we are making every effort to expedite the process. It is imperative to know how many candidates are running for office in order to allow enough time for them to address the membership and take questions. We ask that those nominations for prospective candidates be submitted to the Secretary on or before Feb 1, 2010. This will ensure time to prepare a ballot that will be distributed to each member who attends the March meeting. Membership dues ($100 + 6 hrs volunteer time documentation; $135 without the documentation) must be paid on or before Friday, March 31st. After this date, payment of the $50 initiation fee plus the annual dues will be required for membership reinstatement. Renewal for those 10 years or longer members, 65 y/o will remain $75. Current members who are police officers or in active military service will also renew at the $75 rate. Dues can be paid at the monthly meeting; or mailing a check payable to NPCCC and a self addressed, business sized, stamped envelope to, Nick Paulas, 146 Indigo Drive, Dyer Indiana 46311. With your 2008 membership card you will again receive a volunteer hours documentation sheet to use for renewal of your 2009 dues. During 2009, members will be required to complete 6 hours of volunteer work. It will be the member’s responsibility to obtain documentation of the 6 hours of volunteer time and present the completed form when renewing membership in 2010. Without the 6 hours of volunteer time, membership dues will increase to $135. There are many ways members can complete their volunteer time to the club. Contribution from the entire membership is key to the future of all club activities. Another way is to participate in our scheduled work parties and highway cleanup effort. Contact any one of the club officers or check out NPCCC.net for upcoming events for ways in which you would like to help out and fulfill your 4 hours of volunteer work. Remember, no club project can happen without member participation! NPCCCs highway clean up initiative the first of 3 this year, will happen this April. So mark your calendars and come out and show your club and community support by participating in this worthwhile activity. Contact Jeff Loewe at loewej65@verizon.net for date and details. Remember, the gate preventing entry into the pistol portion of bay #4 (the rifle bay), will remained locked in order to open bay #4 up to 100 yard rifle shooting 7 days a week, except on match days. No steel targets are allowed in the rifle bay, bay #4 at any time! All rifle or shotgun shooting must be done from 100 yards, no closer! In addition, no rifles of any kind may be shot in bay #3, unless during a scheduled match. New warning signs have been installed in and around the shooting area. Follow their directions! The NPCCC safety rules and regulations are posted at the entrance to all the shooting bays. Check out the NPCCC website at our new web address NorthPorterCountycc.org. Please note the change in our website address. Get the latest match results, scheduling of events, bulletin board, pictures from all the NPCCC events and more. Remember, you must sign yourself and your guests in on the new waiver sheets in the red book at the clubhouse before you enter the shooting area! Members sign in the front and their guests sign waivers at the tab towards the back of the book. Members are responsible for their guest's actions, safety and the safety of others around them while on the club property. Please clean up after yourself at the range! Unloadable brass, steel casings, shotgun hulls and used targets must be thrown in the garbage cans available. These items clog and stop the drainage! Shotgun Only/Birdshot Only--No Buckshot or Slugs in the trap area north of bay #1. For everyone’s safety, absolutely non-magnum, pistol calibers only, no more than 1400 fps on any steel targets! Steel targets must be placed for engagement, no closer than 1/3 the distance of the bay from the backstop. This will ensure that missed shots will impact into the back birm and not impact the bay surface and ricochet over the backstop. The plate racks are for pistol use only; No SHOTGUNS OR RIFLES! Cardboard and 2 x2s are provided in each overhead structure for all shooters as well as target stands in each bay. Wooden rifle racks and barricades are NOT target stands; DO NOT staple any cardboard/paper targets to them and use them as such! No hunting of any kind is allowed on the NPCCC property! No .50 BMG cal is allowed on the NPCCC property! Absolutely none of the targets, stands, steel targets, props, or any other associated materials may be removed from the club property. If you see anyone removing property from the club, notify a club officer as soon as possible. Stay politically active! Stay in touch with your state and local politicians to voice your opinions on gun related issues. Don’t forget to stay in touch with your elected representatives from NPCCC. Let them know where you stand on the projects and issues of the club. Promote and support all the shooting sports when ever and where ever. Bring a friend/family member(s) out to the range and introduce her/him/them to the wonderful world of shooting sports. It’s a sport the whole family can enjoy.
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