HOFFMAN — Residents are asking that more be done about the periodic explosions heard from the Oak Grove Technologies site just outside of the Hoffman city limit on Rushing Road, which they say are strong enough to knock mirrors off the walls and could put nearby elderly residents with heart conditions at risk.
Rod Brower said his elderly mother, who has a pacemaker following a heart failure, lives about a quarter mile from Oak Grove Technologies, a company that trains law enforcement and military in advanced techniques for responding to active shooter situations and other scenarios. Since October she and her neighbors have reported “sonic booms,” which have caused them distress.
“It sounds like it’s right in your backyard,” Brower said, who added that he fears his mother going into atrial fibrillation due to the shock of the explosions. “We’ve really had to rethink our living situation.”
Hoffman Mayor Tommy Hart said the company does regular firearms training, which is not a problem, but the explosions “tear up” nearby residents.
“It shakes the glasses in my house, and I live much farther away than (Brower’s mother and others) do,” Hart said in an interview Wednesday. “If you’re not expecting it, it can be shocking to a lot of people.”
According to records kept by Lonnie Swann, Brower’s uncle who also lives about a quarter mile from the training center, there were at least 11 days of these thunderous explosions between Oct. 25 and Feb. 12, with some days having as many as five while others simply say “all day.” Swann said some may have occurred when he was not at home.
The company’s website shows that on the week of Oct. 25, an “International Breachers Symposium” was scheduled. The website shows that there were explosive breaching courses from Nov. 12 to Nov. 17, from Dec. 10 to Dec. 14 and from Feb. 4 to Feb. 9. It’s unclear how many explosives are set off during each course.
County Planner Tracy Parris said Tuesday that the Board of Adjustments approved Oak Grove’s use of the site for firearms training and for explosive breaching training both on weekdays and with the option of weekends in 2014, though Brower and Swann say they were not aware explosions of this magnitude would take place at the site until last fall.
Brower, 50, said he’s lived in Hoffman his whole life and there has never been this level of noise issues from Camp Mackall, which is adjacent to the Oak Grove property. Swann, 71, said he has also raised complaints about the use of the firing range after dark.
A petition with roughly 200 signatures asks that the company be “more considerate of those that live in close vicinity and limit shooting activities from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. OR dusk to dawn.” The petition continues, “Also immediately refrain from the use of explosives.”
Hart met with Bart Bryant, the training center manager for Oak Grove, in January after months of tracking the time and dates of the explosions and they agreed to a deal in which Brower and Hart would be notified in advance of training exercises involving explosives so that they could inform the community to reduce the surprise.
Parris toured the Oak Grove site following Commissioner Don Bryant’s request for something to be done about the explosions at the February meeting of the Board of Commissioners. She assured the board and the large crowd in attendance Tuesday that Oak Grove wishes to be a “good neighbor” but said that “open lines of communication will not prevent the explosives training from being conducted on site.”
Bryant also informed Parris that residents could check the training center’s schedule by going to www.oakgrovetech.com/courses.
The most recent explosions on Feb. 12 — prior to which Brower received a text message from Oak Grove — were due to training center staff allowing Parris to detonate a bomb herself on the afternoon while on a tour of the facility, according to screenshots of texts dated that day provided to the Daily Journal and Parris’ statements at the meeting Tuesday.
Now, Hart says this is not enough and he hopes that Oak Grove representatives, county officials and Hoffman residents can come together to reach a solution.
“I had a good conversation (with Bryant) and I thought at the time that it would be enough if the people were aware prior to explosions being set off, but I think it’s more than just that,” Hart said. “The warning is not good enough for the residents.
The next Advanced Explosive Breaching course is scheduled from April 8 to April 12, according to the Oak Grove website.