To the Editor:
Did you know Westmoreland County hired a noise consultant from Pennsylvania to do a “Gun Range Evaluation and Recommendations” on the O’Gara site. The results were very interesting.
 The first paragraph begins “Gunfire noise for distances less than a mile is likely to be mildly objectionable to very objectionable for the average reasonable person living in the surrounding community. ... Gunfire of a class will be louder and even more objectionable than the noise that was observed during our controlled tests using well spaced single shots of .223 cal and 9 mm at distances of about 2500 feet.”
 Furthermore, “If training includes full auto and/or three burst mode, intrusive noise will be louder and more objectionable, especially when students are firing simultaneously.”
 The first recommendation reads: “If immediate conditional approval is to be given to O’Gara, they must be required to implement more aggressive noise controls.” The report goes on to say “We recommend that aggressive noise controls be used to reduce the gunfire noise of the commercial for profit gun range and all related operations of the O’Gara Group to peak and maximum levels to be prescribed by Westmoreland County. Controls must protect all residents such that the noise would not be objectionable to a reasonable person living in the community at any distance from the range. Consideration should be given to zoning type and time of day when setting limits for the quiet residential and rural area surrounding the proposed gun range.”
 As a result of the above study, can we assume our county officials will be implementing these recommendations before they approve Phase 1B of the O’Gara site plan? Can we also assume that they will reject the section of the O’Gara site plan that allows them to shoot up to .40 cal weapons until 11:59 p.m.? If these assumptions are correct, then I, for one, would say whatever the cost of this study, it is well worth it to the taxpayers who are paying for it.
Margaret Quinn
Mt. Holly