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<p>DALLAS TWP. &#8212; Supervisors are looking to tighten the township&#8217;s backyard gun firing ordinance after a Sept. 9 incident where a 45-caliber bullet hit the front door of an Upper Demunds Road residence.</p><p>Homeowner Bob Menig and several of his neighbors attended a Dallas Township supervisors&#8217; public meeting Oct. 2 to request changes to the zoning ordinance that currently allows a residential backyard shooting range within 150 yards of a dwelling, building, barn, school, playground or cemetery.</p><p>Their plea comes after a bullet fired from a handgun in the vicinity of Goodleigh Road passed one home, crossed busy Upper Demunds Road and lodged itself in Menig&#8217;s steel front door.</p><p><strong>Typical Saturday</strong></p><p>Sept. 9 was a typical Saturday at Bob and Donna Menig&#8217;s home at 281 Upper Demunds Road.</p><p>Donna, 48, a nurse, went to work in the morning.</p><p>Bob, 48, was preparing to start on his honey-do-list, which included painting the front door.</p><p>Their 24-year-old son Robert Jr. had just returned home after taking his younger brother, Andrew, to an Eagle Scout meeting and retired to his bedroom for a while before mowing the yard.</p><p>The couple&#8217;s daughter, Casidhe went to work.</p><p>Outside, sounds of gunfire could be heard, which was not entirely unusual for the rural residential community, Bob said.</p><p>But then something happened &#8212; a loud whistle followed by a smack made both father and son jump.</p><p>Bob thought Robert Jr. tipped over in a chair and called out to his son. Robert Jr. answered that he was alright and then began walking through the home looking for what made the startling sound.</p><p>Meanwhile, Bob called 911 to report his home had been hit by gunfire.</p><p>While Bob was on the phone with 911, he also began walking through the house and noticed a bulb-shaped lump on the inside of his front door.</p><p>With the sound of gunfire still echoing through the neighborhood, he cautiously opened the door to inspect it and saw a bullet embedded in the door.</p><p>&#8220;That bullet could have hit me and killed me if I was painting the door,&#8221; Bob said. &#8220;If my son was outside mowing the front yard, he could have shot and killed.&#8221;</p><p>Bob said Dallas Township Police Officer Jason Mislevy arrived along with another Dallas Township Police Officer and one from Kingston Township. At this time, the gunfire stopped, he said.</p><p>Bob used needle nosed pliers to remove the bullet from the door as instructed by Mislevy and turned it over to him.</p><p>When the shooting started again, the two assisting officers left to find the range site while Mislevy stayed with Bob, his son and neighbors Mike and Jennifer Franza.</p><p>At the supervisors meeting, Mike Franza, who lives across the street from the Menig family, said when the gunfire started again, bullets could be heard hitting trees around his yard, and he remembered a police officer yelled, &#8220;Get down.&#8221;</p><p>Dr. Joe Dreier, his wife and children, live in a housing development next to the neighborhood where the gunfire is believed to have originated.</p><p>&#8220;We live in a development and hear gunfire on a semi-regular basis but did not realize it may be coming from an adjoining neighborhood,&#8221; Dreier said in an Oct. 17 email. &#8220;We were concerned before but are now alarmed.&#8221;</p><p>Dreier said the firearm was &#8220;discharged within a mile of the police station, just over a mile from the Dallas schools, and easily within range of multiple school bus stops.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;The projectile from the firearm reportedly crossed a busy road that sees traffic from Dallas High School runners, walkers, and bicyclists,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I suspect the laws regarding the discharge of firearms were created prior to the advent of many of the high powered handguns and rifles that are used today.</p><p>&#8221;Certain bullets may travel up to five miles,&#8221; he added. &#8220;I am in favor of the respectful use of firearms but not when it places the lives of others at risk.&#8221;</p><p>Police Chief Robert Jolley could not share the Sept. 9 police report with the Dallas Post, citing the incident is being reviewed by the Luzerne County District Attorney&#8217;s office.</p><p>Jolley, who has been a police officer in the region for 32 years, said he has received other calls of gunfire hitting homes over the years.</p><p>&#8220;Firearm projectiles can carry a long distance,&#8221; Jolley said.</p><p>He cited information from the Washington State Hunters Education course that reported a 45 caliber handgun bullet could travel up to 5,000 feet.</p><p>&#8220;People (gun owners) need to be aware of their surroundings and the proximity to other homes, buildings and public areas,&#8221; he said.</p><p><strong>Ordinance change</strong></p><p>Bob Menig offered three suggestions to change the current ordinance to supervisors. His recommendations included:</p><p>&#8226; making it illegal to fire a gun in Dallas Township;</p><p>&#8226; increasing the safety zone of a backyard firing range from 150 to 600 yards; or</p><p>&#8226; increasing the safety zone from 150 to 300 yards, requiring a permit to construct a gun range and having the site inspected regularly by the state Game Commission, township zoning officer and the police department.</p><p>Bob acknowledges the first two suggestions would not be feasible but felt the third recommendation with additional stipulations could increase safety for all residents and allow gun enthusiasts the ability to enjoy their hobby.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to take away anyone&#8217;s right to fire a gun,&#8221; Menig said. &#8220;We want to make it safe.&#8221;</p><p>Supervisors agree the ordinance needs to be updated to fit with the changing community.</p><p>&#8220;Our ordinance does not have enough teeth to it,&#8221; Elizabeth Martin, a township supervisor, said during the meeting.</p><p>Martin said the supervisors are looking at ordinances from two communities in the Mountain Top area as well as conferring with the state Game Commission to create a new ordinance.</p><p>&#8220;Dallas Township is unique,&#8221; Martin said. &#8220;We are a rural residential area.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Bob, Donna and Robert Menig discuss the day a 45 caliber bullet hit their Dallas Township home&#8217;s front door. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL101817Menig1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bob, Donna and Robert Menig discuss the day a 45 caliber bullet hit their Dallas Township home&#8217;s front door. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Dallas Post </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL101817Menig2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dallas Township homeowner Bob Menig shares a Google map showing where he believes the gunfire on Sept. 9 came from and the proximity to his home. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL101817Menig2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Dallas Township homeowner Bob Menig shares a Google map showing where he believes the gunfire on Sept. 9 came from and the proximity to his home. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Dallas Post </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL101817Menig3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bob Menig pulls back a piece of tape to reveal a gunshot hole in his front door. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL101817Menig3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Bob Menig pulls back a piece of tape to reveal a gunshot hole in his front door. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Dallas Post </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL101817Menig4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bob Menig pulls tape off a bullet hole in the front door at his Dallas Township home. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_TTL101817Menig4.jpg</photo3><caption3>Bob Menig pulls tape off a bullet hole in the front door at his Dallas Township home. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Dallas Post </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Eileen Godin</p><p>egodin@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Gun fire spurs review of Dallas Township’s backyard gun range ordinance