County park board approves rifles for rangers

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PERRYSBURG — Park rangers, like their law enforcement counterparts across the county, will now be armed
with rifles.
At this month’s meeting, held at W.W. Knight Preserve, the Wood County Park District board approved
paying $10,244 for seven semi-automatic weapons, sights and slings.
“This is something they’ve been looking into for quite awhile,” Director Neil Munger said, “It is
allowable in our policy. They are allowed to carry rifles. A number of them do; they carry their own
personal rifles.”
Board member Tom Myers asked if any of the rangers has ever discharged a rifle while on the job?and what
situation would prompt that.
“No, we haven’t,” said Eric Shiffler, a park ranger. “But any kind of a tactic threat (would prompt the
use). We’re all over the county, so we assist every other agency in the county. They all have them.
“It’s kind of silly that we would show up on an active shooter at a school and we don’t have the same
equipment.”
He said the advantages of this weapon is higher accuracy and better capacity and range.
The rangers are currently using their personally-owned weapons.
Munger said that they had applied for a grant for the purchase, but did not receive it.
“We did not get the grant but there is enough money in the budget to cover the cost,” Munger said.
Also at the meeting, the board:
• Discussed a request from Pemberville officials about a $6,919 grant that the county awarded the village
for pickleball courts. Their intention was to match that grant with $3,000, Munger said.
However, any additional park money in the village budget is going toward pool maintenance there, he said.

“So that $3,000 they earmarked for the pickleball courts ended up being used for their pool,” Munger
said. “They asked … if they could use our grant money to fund some of the repairs to the pool.”
The board decided to leave the grant as it was awarded for the pickleball courts.
The board also approved distributing $100,000 in park grants to Wood County communities.
• Heard Munger review several projects at the parks.
Work, including grass seeding, fencing and the final signage, continues at the Rudolph Bike Park. Munger
said that the park is unofficially the longest contiguous bike park of its type, possibly in the world.

Yardages will be added in the shelter area of the Arrowwood Archery Range. The next step is to install
electric and a tower that will simulate a tree stand.
The interpretive center at Sawyer Quarry in Perrysburg is almost complete. The renovated restrooms inside
the home there are open, Munger said.
At Otsego Park, there is new flooring and a new playground.
At William Henry Harrison Park, renovation of the home on site continues. It will be the eventual home of
the park ranger office.
• Decided that board meetings would resume at the area parks starting next month at Sawyer Quarry.

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