[CPEO-MEF] Corps clearing ammo in 26-acre Butner area

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North Carolina
Corps clearing ammo in 26-acre Butner area
By Hunter Lewis : The Herald-Sun
hlewis@heraldsun.com
Jan 7, 2003 : 11:37 pm ET

BUTNER -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began digging Tuesday in a
rural neighborhood labeled "high risk" after workers and residents found
two unexploded artillery shells and several pieces of exploded shells.

The 26-acre area, including Lakeview Estates, a subdivision of six homes
near Lake Butner, sits in what was the line of fire of an old World War
II artillery range. The firing range was one of 15 that existed in the
1940s, when the 40,000-acre Camp Butner housed and trained about 40,000
U.S. Army troops for combat.

The $600,000, five-week survey and dig off Lakeview Drive follows a spot
survey the corps did last spring and summer on the old Army
installation. The investigation revealed about 12 explosive objects,
including some in the subdivision.

Engineers began focusing on Lakeview Drive in late 2001 when 9-year-old
Taylor Cash picked up an exploded bazooka shell and placed it on his
family’s porch.

In August 2002, the corps found and detonated a live 37 mm round in the
Cashes’ front yard. Also in August, loggers found a live 155 mm shell in
the woods north of the Cashes’ home.

"When we find two [unexploded] items, yes, we consider that risk high,"
said John Belew, project manager with the corps. "There’s no way that
you cannot say there’s a risk there if you find two live items in a
person’s yard."

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.herald-sun.com/granville/11-306827.html

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