Photo by Joselyn King Owners at Guntry-West Virginia at those assisting them in opening their new location at The Highlands cut the ribbon during ceremonies Thursday morning. Pictured from left are Sunny West, vice president and district team leader at WesBanco; Guntry owners Brian Wolf, Mark Gogol and Rick Landsman; Neil Kravitz, firearms director for Guntry, and Ross Salvatori with the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce.

TRIADELPHIA — Guntry-West Virginia owners and local officials were on hand Thursday to officially cut the ribbon on the new shooting range facility now open at The Highlands.

Guntry’s home location is Owings Mills, Maryland, and their location in Ohio County marks their second location.

“We are so proud to be here in The Highlands,” said co-owner Mark Gogol. “It’s been a long time coming, and it’s been about five years since we first started talking about the project. To have it come to full fruition is just fantastic.

“We’re excited about the partnership, and what we can do in The Highlands.”

Co-owner Brian Wolf agreed it had been a long road to opening their facility in Ohio County.

“But here we are, and we are very proud to be part of this community,” he continued. “We have been embraced very well by the community, and Guntry is here to be a part of it. We’re very excited.”

The third owner, Rick Landsman, said he has enjoyed trips to Ohio County so far.

“We have put together a really good team here — it’s a phenomenal team,” he added. “I think we’re going to do great things here.”

Landsman and the other owners all said local officials have treated them well as they established their business in Ohio County.

“That is one of the reasons we’re here,” Landsman said. “They treated us so well from the very beginning.”

Among those in attendance was Ohio County Commissioner Zach Abraham.

“I think it’s awesome,” he said of the Guntry facility. “I think it’s exactly what the development needed in terms of providing entertainment.

“We’re just excited that Guntry has chosen Ohio County as the location for their second facility, and we think those folks in Ohio County and surrounding areas are going to love it.”

Abraham enjoys shooting and said he plans to come try out Guntry.

“It’s fantastic; it’s great,” said Josh Jefferson, president and CEO of the Regional Economic Development Partnership (RED). “The partnerships we have formed with the county and the ownership group… it really took a collaborative effort to bring it all together, and we’re super-excited today.

Jefferson added that for law enforcement having such a facility available to them for training “is unprecedented.”

“We’re really excited what it’s going to do for our law enforcement in the multi-state region in our area,” he said. “And from the standpoint of our community, (the public) will have somewhere to go to safely train.”

Jason Rine, general manager of Guntry-West Virginia, reported strong turnout for Guntry open house events last week. About 100 memberships have been sold so far, he added.