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WEST POINT— Downtown West Point just got a little more exciting thanks to a new axe-throwing business, Purge Nation, that is under construction. Owned by Tammy Stephens and her son, Seth Heice, it will have axe-throwing lanes for adults and children, as well as dart-throwing. Customers will be able to play games such as tic-tac-toe, Zombies, Line-Up-4, Duck Hunter and more by throwing their axes at projected targets. Digital scoring will make it easy for customers to keep track of their successes.

Stephens said Purge Nation will open around March 15.

“The building is close to ready,” Stephens said. “They just finished the lights and the painting. We just need to put in the darts and the axe lanes will be built March 1.”

Stephens and Heice decided to start their business after trying axe throwing on a vacation.

“It was so much fun that we wanted to do it,” Stephens said. “There’s nothing around West Point or LaGrange to do at all [for all ages]. Either all adults or all children … [We’re] giving them something to do as a family, where the adults can be in one area, the kids can be in another area, and everybody can have some fun.”

The children’s lanes will feature black light art, and kids’ axes will be made of foam and Velcro for safety. Adult customers will throw real axes, which Stephens said are custom-made for axe throwing.

“These could be used outside, but you wouldn’t want to,” Stephens said.

Lanes will be designed with anti-bounce borders to keep customers safe.

Purge Nation will host birthday parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties, company team building events and special events in general. Additional, Stephens said the business will hold league nights on which customers can compete against each other.

Scheduling is planned around when people tend to want to throw axes, which is after work or school. Stephens said Purge Nation may adjust its hours during summer, when kids are out of school. The days and hours listed on Purge Nation’s website are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. The business will be closed on Monday and Tuesday.

“We’re looking forward to being a part of the community,” Stephens said. “We want to definitely have that community feel … We’re excited to come to West Point.”

Purge Nation is located at 813 3rd Avenue in West Point.Its website, https://purgenation.com, is under construction. Purge Nation is also on Facebook.