thedrifter
02-17-07, 02:40 PM
Lejeune officials to ticket island trespassers
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Feb 17, 2007 8:40:36 EST
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — The Marine Corps has increased patrols and plans to start issuing trespassing tickets to keep visitors off an island that remains a live-fire range.
Trespassers on Brown’s Island could now face prison time and a maximum $5,000 fine, Camp Lejeune officials said. Despite more than 200 warning signs, the slender island between Onslow Beach and Hammocks Beach State Park is popular for some local anglers, sunbathers and seashell collectors.
“A lot of people want to go there and have a good time,” Gunnery Sgt. Sean Lamer said. “It’s not always what you see. It’s what you don’t see that’s a problem.”
Camp Lejeune has used Brown’s Island for live-fire training for more than 50 years. The Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps still train in the area with machine guns and heavy artillery.
Explosive cleanup teams regularly comb the beach for ammunition shells, and 27 tons of unexploded ordnance were removed last summer. Some small-arms fire and artillery dating back to the 1950s sometimes wash up on shore, said Lt. Col. Russ Jamison, Range Control Division director.
“Just because we’re cleaning up doesn’t mean it’s safe. It will never be safe,” Jamison said.
No arrests have been made recently, said Camp Lejeune spokesman Lt. Craig Thomas. The island has been off limits for years but base officials decided to get tougher recently because of safety concerns.
Boaters aren’t allowed to stop at the island, and Marine officials will now regularly patrol the area for trespassers.
“Brown’s Island is literally scattered with unstable unexploded ordnance,” Jamison said. “We don’t know how much is out there.”
Officials used a high-tech machine two years ago to scan the area and discovered more than 5,000 unexploded shells. But the explosive cleanup teams don’t even know all the types of ordnance they could encounter, because Camp Lejeune hadn’t always required that such records be kept.
“What was fired there in the past is basically anybody’s guess,” said Chief Warrant Officer William Whitlock, who works with disposal. “Some blow up; some don’t. They are all shapes and colors and sizes.”
Ellie
The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Feb 17, 2007 8:40:36 EST
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — The Marine Corps has increased patrols and plans to start issuing trespassing tickets to keep visitors off an island that remains a live-fire range.
Trespassers on Brown’s Island could now face prison time and a maximum $5,000 fine, Camp Lejeune officials said. Despite more than 200 warning signs, the slender island between Onslow Beach and Hammocks Beach State Park is popular for some local anglers, sunbathers and seashell collectors.
“A lot of people want to go there and have a good time,” Gunnery Sgt. Sean Lamer said. “It’s not always what you see. It’s what you don’t see that’s a problem.”
Camp Lejeune has used Brown’s Island for live-fire training for more than 50 years. The Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps still train in the area with machine guns and heavy artillery.
Explosive cleanup teams regularly comb the beach for ammunition shells, and 27 tons of unexploded ordnance were removed last summer. Some small-arms fire and artillery dating back to the 1950s sometimes wash up on shore, said Lt. Col. Russ Jamison, Range Control Division director.
“Just because we’re cleaning up doesn’t mean it’s safe. It will never be safe,” Jamison said.
No arrests have been made recently, said Camp Lejeune spokesman Lt. Craig Thomas. The island has been off limits for years but base officials decided to get tougher recently because of safety concerns.
Boaters aren’t allowed to stop at the island, and Marine officials will now regularly patrol the area for trespassers.
“Brown’s Island is literally scattered with unstable unexploded ordnance,” Jamison said. “We don’t know how much is out there.”
Officials used a high-tech machine two years ago to scan the area and discovered more than 5,000 unexploded shells. But the explosive cleanup teams don’t even know all the types of ordnance they could encounter, because Camp Lejeune hadn’t always required that such records be kept.
“What was fired there in the past is basically anybody’s guess,” said Chief Warrant Officer William Whitlock, who works with disposal. “Some blow up; some don’t. They are all shapes and colors and sizes.”
Ellie