I will never understand rednecks!!!!

I was not born and raised in Gaston so I don't see things the way native Gastonites do. I was raised in a town the size of Gaston but it isn't as rural (ALOT less trees and absolutely no dirt roads). So maybe that has skewed the way I think. But Gaston is NOT the same place it was when Tom was a little boy growing up in this house. It is alot more populated. That's what makes what happened yesterday so infuriating. My redneck neighbor around the corner from me was target practicing in his back yard. We hear shots from time to time but no more than a couple of shots per incident. Yesterday that redneck fired 23 shots total! I called the town hall but Woody wasn't on duty. When the shots started again, I called 911 and the rude operator argued with me that I was not in the town limits. I can't get too angry with her because there are people that think that just because they have a Gaston address, they are in the town limits. For the record, that is just not so. If you have a Gaston address, that means you get your mail through the Gaston post office. That is all. Before we bought our house from Tom's parents, back in 1997, I knew that Tom didn't want to be annexed into the town limits but I did. So I asked my father-in-law to annex the property before we buy it. So that's how I know that I have been in the town limits for 10 years now. But obviously county has an extremely old map. Anyway, the rude 911 operator asked me if the redneck was shooting on his property. I said yes. She then asked me if I would like a deputy to come out and explain the law to me. I said "WHAT? Are you trying to tell me he can discharge a firearm on his property legally?" She said yes. Anyway, after once again telling her I was IN the town limits, she said "Thank you" and hung up on. I then called Jenny and told her about the 911 operator insisting I was not in the town limits. She called Rusty, one of our Gaston officers, and he said he could come by and file a report. The doorbell rang and it was a Lexington County Deputy. She was extremely nice (Officer Ellisor....probably related to us somehow?) but I told her that she is out of her jurisdiction because I'm in the town limits and we have an officer on duty. She called county to verify and they told her I was not in the town limits. *sigh* So I called Jenny and let her talk to the officer. She asked Jenny to call county and advise them of this. Jenny called county and they told her to tell me next time I call to inform the operator that I was in the town limits. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! (yep I wanted to scream!) Anyway, I told Officer Ellisor that Rusty was on his way but she wanted to stay until Rusty took over or until county told her she could leave. Rusty ended up coming before county called her. But while waiting on Rusty, she told me that if that redneck was not in the town limits, he could legally discharge a firearm on his property no matter how many houses are around, as long as his bullets don't end up on someone else's property. I think that is NUTS!!!!!!! When Rusty got here, he explained to me that the town of Gaston has an ordinance against discharging firearms, even if it is your property, within the town limits. So he took my report and then went to talk to the "alleged" shooter. Rusty was very professional and so very nice. We are lucky to have him on our police force!

By the way, for all of you law abiding citizens who are wary of annexing in the town of Gaston, think about this....if your neighbor isn't in the town limits, he/she can discharge a firearm legally on his property. Now I'm all for my right to bear arms, but a stray bullet from these rednecks shooting in a residential area could kill an innocent person....perhaps an innocent child. We have Mid Carolina Gun Club on Fish Hatchery and Shooter's Choice in West Columbia....GO THERE! Don't shoot in our neighborhoods. I promise you if a stray bullet hits one of my kids, I WILL shoot back. (And for those who are concerned about a town tax if you get annexed, Gaston has never had a town tax and I have it on good authority that they aren't even talking about it.)