Calif. town divided over Blackwater plan

[Kadie]

Calif. town divided over Blackwater plan
By ALLISON HOFFMAN, Associated Press Writer
47 minutes ago


POTRERO, Calif. - A proposal by security contractor Blackwater has divided residents of this sleepy mountain village into two camps: Those who welcome the company's plans to build a firing range here and critics who want to keep it out of town.

The issue has become so controversial that voters on Tuesday are set to consider removing from office five members of the advisory planning board that endorsed Blackwater's plans.

Blackwater Worldwide wants to turn an 800-acre former chicken farm into a training camp for law enforcement officers. The facility would include 11 firing ranges, a driving track and a helipad. But opposition to the plan intensified in September, after Blackwater guards were investigated in the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad.

"This type of company — is this what America represents?" said Carl Meyer, a former planning board member who is running as an alternate candidate. "With all the news that's come out about them, most people wouldn't want them in their backyards."

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071210/ap_on_re_us/blackwater_fight_1



One of a number signs found in the rural community of Potrero, Calif., Wednesday Dec. 5, 2007, advocating the halting of the Blackwater Corp. plans to build a training facility in the area . A recall election that would halt the plans is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007.
(AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)