Him.

Croyle owns the first house on the right past the proposed range, which sits about two miles from the J.A. Cochran Bypass.

"We've got grandkids, and we spend a lot of time down there on Saturdays and Sundays," said Croyle, who worries about his family's safety and the noise he fears the range will bring. "What's my place going to be worth if they put (the range) in there?"

Benson told The Herald last week that the few property owners around the 10-acre site had not objected to his plans for an obstacle course and shooting range where deputies can practice firing handguns and submachine guns.

But only one person -- a State Law Enforcement Division agent -- owns land that borders the site, and the agent doesn't live on the land, sheriff's officials said. The other property that touches the site is Chester State Park.

Sheriff's officials said Friday the agency has spoken to neighbors in the area who don't have a problem with the project. Croyle wasn't home when deputies went to visit him, they said. Benson also said state park officials haven't opposed his plans.

The county's Zoning Board of Appeals will decide Tuesday whether to approve the sheriff's plan for the shooting range. Benson has asked the board to relax some guidelines about how far the range must be from the state park.

A spokesman for the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism said that agency is monitoring the zoning change and will send representatives to Tuesday's meeting.

The state park is the primary concern for Tommy Bagley, who is building a house on Ashford Road.

"It's ridiculous," said Bagley, who noted that he hasn't met anyone who lives in the area who wants the shooting range built.

The county's zoning rules require that a range target must be followed by a mile of uninhabited land, and the sheriff's plan doesn't meet that requirement, Bagley said. A ballfield and an archery range inside the park lie within a mile of the range, and Bagley's fear is that a stray bullet might strike a park visitor.

Sheriff's officials have asked the zoning board to reduce the mile requirement to around a half-mile because "we know there is nobody in that area," said sheriff's Sgt. Doug McMurray, who helped design the range.

Only a small portion of the state park is actually used, McMurray said, and the rest is a forest.

But Bagley said there are several houses within a mile of the range, and some public facilities are around 2,000 feet beyond the site.

He also worries about deputies using the range for night shooting and SWAT Team maneuvers. Bagley said the latter fear is based on the rapid movements SWAT team members must make and the chance that an errant shot could escape one of the facility's earthy barriers. And he wonders about rocks in the berms causing a bullet to ricochet.

The design of the range calls for loose dirt to be piled in front of the barrier to prevent bullets from bouncing off, McMurray said. He described the chance of a bullet escaping the horseshoe-shaped range as "minuscule."

Detective Scott Thompson, who heads the agency's SWAT team, also said most officer training involves shooting within 10 yards of a berm, straight into a still target.

McMurray, a training instructor, expects the range would only be used 25 times a year, almost exclusively on weekdays. The hours of operation would be 7:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. and strictly for law enforcement use.

"It's not open for just somebody to go down there and play," he said.

Both Croyle and Bagley want the sheriff's office to have a training facility. But they say the surrounding residential area and the adjacent state park aren't compatible with this kind of facility.

Bagley said he's already asked the county to stop construction once. Late last year, he complained to county planning officials after he saw shooting towers going up without proper approval.

Benson said Friday he started building the range early because he didn't think the facility would be a problem. But he halted construction after planning officials told him to wait until the project had been approved.

Bagley said he's talked to many other residents in the area who share his concerns.

"It should be an issue of right and wrong," he said. "It shouldn't be any more complicated than that."

Sheriff's officials contend the need for this shooting range is dire. The range where deputies used to practice was torn down this week, and the county doesn't own another local range for training.

"This is a must," Thompson said.

The zoning board will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the council chambers of the R. Carlisle Roddey Complex.