Biological Terror attack against AT

[geoffrey morris]

:confused: Hi everyone, I wanted to update you all about the trash situation on the AT near US19E. As usual it continues and only gets worse. I have took it upon myself to do some investigating and know have a good idea as to who is trashing the trail. I still have had very little support from any government group or trail org. I started by picking up the bags of trash daily. This seemed to only make the perpetrator even more determined to litter our trail. Now this person is not only throwing house hold trash but is including used hypodermic needles. These needles have only appeared since I started cleaning the trail. The use of bio-hazard material to scare hikers and those who would maintain the trail , in my mind, this is an attempt to discourage people from removing the trash by threat of contracting some illness . Since the trail is considered a national treasure(located on public land) and used hypodermic needles pose a biological hazard , doesn't this constitute a biological terror attack upon our nation . Where is the Patriot Act now?More people walk the trail than visit or work at the pentagon or the world trade center. Imagine the head lines "Hiker dies from AIDS contracted on AT"/ Hiker steps on dirty needle and contracts hepatitis while walking the AT".Hell of a story to tell your children around the camp fire.Is this what it will take to get the government's attention? I want to see some action taken to establish a chain of evidence against this person, so as to be able to charge him with more than just littering(with its' stupid little $50 fine). Let's stop talking about what we could do and make an example of this redneck SOB.I'm sure that the section of trail near me isn't the only trouble spot but we've got to start somewhere.Please pass this letter on to anyone who can make something happen.Please E mail me with your comments and ideas.Let's work together so AT wont mean Always Trashed!!!!

yours,
Geoffrey Morris

[Lone Wolf]

Maybe you could hide in the bushes and when he comes jump out and beat the s**t out of him! :D

[SGT Rock]

I was planning on hiking that area, maybe we could set an ambush.

[Moon Monster]

I totally agree with your rage towards the offenders, and I'm impressed with your creative idea of finding a serious cause of action against them. That creativeness is something my law school could not teach a person.

However, please don't talk about the Patriot Act as if it was legitimate. If you do, you are only fostering the type of hyprocricy that allows a human to litter the trail.

That aside said, I'm curious why the local trail maintainence org woulr resist at least supporting your wish to do something, especially in the face of escalating garbage with the needles and such. Who did you talk to?

[jersey joe]

hmmm....I wonder if it's possible to train bears to maul litter bugs...:-?

[snowshoe]

If you know the person doing this and can get some sort of address or Lic plate # then report it to the local Athorities. I can not see how they would ignore that. The only thing you may have to do is show up to court as a witness. That is was good thing about the section in NJ where I live, the trail is kept clean and if anyone does litter on a regular basis the local Rangers really work at it to try and get the person and get the highest fines.

[DebW]

Try contacting the NPS Appalachian Trail Office. They can send federal marshalls, and have done so when local abutters don't respect the trail corridor. Assuming the incident is on federal land.

[geoffrey morris]

HI J.joe ,Moon,Wolf,SGT Rock,
I hope that by spreading the word around,maybe something will be done.I think sometime this spring I will stake out the trash spot with a video cam.This guy works nights and trashes the trail at night. I watched him as he left for work yesterday,the dumbass put the trash in his truck-in the cab of his truck.What does this mean to you all?To me it means he wont have to stop and get out to chuck it.And it's always the same small white plastic grocery bags. Funny thing is I know this guy and he's too stupid and lazy to clean his finger prints off of the bag and items.In a related story ,One day I was working outside and watched this guy's son(about 20 years old then),who was working on his dirt bike,drain the old 2-cycle fuel that had been in the gas tank all winter and then walk to creek in front of thier house and pour the old fuel into the creek.As he walked away from the creek,staring into the paper milk carton used to catch the fuel from his bike,he then stopped and turned back toward the creek and threw the milk carton in the creek as well.This sent a rage over my entire body and I went down and confronted the punk ass mother ******er and asked him why he would do something so stupid.?He denied that he did such a thing but I saw him plain as day.I had a few choice words for him hear and told him I would beat the sh#t out of him and then call the law as well.Well this gives you all a idea of just what kind of scum I'm dealing with.Oh, now the latest thing the punk ass mother ******er has a large pit bull that runs around in his yard.Sometimes the dog is tied sometimes not.To make matters worse my son gets off the school bus next to this punk asses house. I'm just waiting for the dog to cross on to my property,BOOM if get my drift.I'm so tired of these trash ass people,Well I could vapor forever about this I'll keep you all posted.See ya,

Geoffrey Morris

[Grimace]

I'm not sure terrorist threat is the way to go in terms of prosecution. I agree littering probably isn't steep enough as a punishment. I'm guessing there are strict laws however regarding the disposal of and transporting of biological waste. Where are the needles coming from? Are they from narcotics use? (Another stiff penalty)

Lastly, maybe I'm naive and idealistic. Anyone ever tried talking to the folks to find a motive. This is the section of trail where the gov't decided to go take people's land without compensation correct? The hiking community could fill this guys pockets with money of he opened a little kiosk and let people park under his watchful eye. Maybe he just needs a little kickback

[geoffrey morris]

hi Grimace ,this dudes problem with the trail stems from a open pit surface mine that was closed down because it was highly visable from the trail.Old dude lost his job when the mine was closed

[Singletrack]

Have you contacted the Tenneesee Eastman Hiking Club? They are responsible for the maintenance in this area. I have worked with them maintaining trails in that area. They are a great bunch, and I cannot imagine them not helping or giving advise. Talk to Bob Peeples at Kincora Hostel, I bet he will help you.

[Grimace]

Alright, so the guy lost his job and is short on money?? He could make a bundle parking people's cars and selling a soda or two to hikers. How many posts have we read about parking on 19E. It's one of the most popular sections on the trail. HE should just puta sign by the trail head.

[TedB]

First of all I want to commend you on your efforts to look after the trail. Your efforts make a big difference and most certainly are appreciated. I also think you are wise to ask for help on this issue. There are 3000 people on this message board and I think we can come up with a solution.

So here's my idea. Maybe somebody could go and hear his story and have it published in ATN. Everyone who supports efforts to protect the AT should hear the human consequences. I think if his story is told, perhaps it will provide some healing for him. Lets face it, if he's your neighboor, you better hope he can get as much healing as possible.

[MedicineMan]

the TWRA (Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency)-powerful armed agents of Big Brother that if you can get them into the fray will surely ruin this guys day. 2 or 3 weeks ago we did this section and I was ashamed that it is in my home state, less than 15 AT miles from my home...sooner or later he/they will die off and the wounds of land usurpation will begin to heal but as we have learned in GSMNP and Voyageurs NP it takes decades for these things to heal over.
How brave are you? pics of perpetrators go a long way in court, and he/she/they are def. defiling a National Park.
Contact Dave Ramsey at Mahoney's Outfitters in Johnson City 423-282-8889, he has the ear of many congressional types in the state and can give good advice on who to talk to.

[weary]

This is the section of trail where the gov't decided to go take people's land without compensation correct?

This is one of those rumors that should be either squashed or confirmed. The government can't legally take any land without compensation. If it happened, which I doubt, someone should be investigating.

But, let's face it. Government often takes land without compensating land owners for what the owner thinks their property is worth -- including my land for that matter. Yeah. The government once used its powers of eminent domain to buy my house and part of my land. I wasn't happy but I recognize the source of the problem.

Governments cannot buy land for more than its appraised value. Appraisals by definition are almost always behind the market. What land is worth, according to appraisals, is what land has sold for in the past. In a rapidly accellerating market that almost never is what its worth once the sale many months later is completed.

The recourse is to petition the courts for redress. It is not to strew garbage on the trail. That's a criminal offense. I have no personal evidence one way or the other. But this issue has been brewing for many years. The report in 1993 was that some one was hanging fish hooks along the trail at eye level. I failed to notice any fish hooks, but if I had I'd be equally adamant as Grimace.

However, it's my guess that these are just punks, lead, perhaps, by someone whose family thinks the government did em wrong.

Weary

[rpsp1066]

There are motion activated photo cams that can be had for reasonable prices in some of the hunting supply catalogs. I can't vouch for the quality of the pics, but I've been tempted to purchase one myself for just such occasions. Most morons that like to trash things up or vandalize use the cover of darkeness of absence of people to do their deeds. Even if the law isn't that interested, this guy finding a picture of himself dumping trash in his mailbox might at least keep him away from the trail.
rpsp1066

[eyahiker]

Hope this area gets some help soon, you are doing a terrific job of following up on it since you are nearby.:clap

Salvos' (salv. army) has old clothes cheap, you could "stuff" yourself a person or two hanging out in the trees, he may just think he is being watched and back off, especially if you get like a lighter colored flannel shirt and sneakers for your stuffed guy that reflect a bit, he'll pull up and figure he's being watched/video'd and may drive on by.

If you take some of the trash/needles to a police station to report this/ or if he is getting them from work - he can go to jail.I believe using them for the use other than intended ( if caught) can lead to prosecution for attempted murder ( there have been several cases of this with folks who have "threatened" police or others with needles they have just used, usually they are abusers/users............(AIDS/OTHER INF.DIS.).....

Have you tried the EPA?

[Alligator]

I see weekly law enforcement reports from the USFS about dumpers being prosecuted on the basis of home mail in the trash. This should be an easy solution for whatever law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over that section of the trail. While a $50 fine may not seem like a large fine, repeated application may get his attention. Further, a judge may impose restriction from the trail area which if violated would escalate his fines.

If you are having trouble getting the attention of the law enforcement authorities, let us all know. Perhaps flooding their mailbox with complaints and calling their offices will annoy them enough to make an arrest.

[Grimace]

I think Alligator's is the best idea of them all. Geoff, just post the contact info for your Sherrif, congress people, senator's etc. Anyone who could potentially make a difference. If we all send out a letter, email, etc something could get done.

[geoffrey morris]

Hi everyone, my investigation continues. I am reluctant to get the local authorities involved because of what I call the "good ol' boy syndrome".My fear is that he will get tipped off as to the fact that we're on his trail.This might stop the trash which is good but not good enough.I want to see him made an example of.This way others will think twice before they dump trash anywhere. Let's hope that we can establish a chain of evidence that shows him to be a habitual offender and maybe due to the bio-hazard material(dirty needles) some sort of charge related to terrorism. It's(the terrorism part) a long shot,but with the governments new attitude toward acts of terror maybe he's in for the rude awakening. I have been in contact with a USFS agent and she tells me that at the very least he will have to go to federal court if it goes to trial. And I'm told that legal representation for a federal charge is very expensive.Something on the order of a minimum of $10,000. I hope it's more and we get a conviction on top of his legal costs. Jail time and huge fines will do. The USFS agent tells me that their considering some sort of short term surveillance, but I'm figuring I will need additional video/photo evidence to get the maximum penalty.
Does anyone have any knowledge as to the punishment for such crimes?The crime is happening in Tennessee but is on federal property.
Well let's hope soon I can report that the "trail trasher" got busted in the act, followed by a conviction!

[Deerleg]

I spent an afternoon in October of 2002 cleaning this section. It was sickening as there was lots of used TP (hmm DNA) and like you said small white bags (ripped open), no needles, and nothing with a name on it at all, no old envelops or junk mail. The guy is at least being careful on making sure his name is not mixed in with the rest of the trash. Bob Peoples has also picked up this section many times and he said the same thing; never any junk mail.

I spend a week in Appalachia every summer on a service project with my son and am a little shocked at the lack of stewardship some folks have of the land they love. Sometimes it’s just a plain lack of recourses, and other times a lack of knowledge of the consequences of dumping in their watersheds.

TedB might be on to something…if somebody, a third party, could sit down with this guy and mediate his problems and clearly spell out what kind of trouble he is in perhaps it will end…

Best of luck, I’ll stay tuned.

[cabalot]

can u go thru his garbage and find any credit card receipts or bills or junk mail that has his name or address?

if you can find his address, gather all his garbage and dump it on his front yard, if he has one.