Please help. My neighbor polluted my very well taken care of privately owned pond. He polluted his own pond beyond help so he decided I should have it, if I wanted it or not. He used 400 feed of 2" hose and two gas powered pumps to back pump his entire polluted 100' by 75' pond directly into my pond, even using my land to do it. His hoses were through the fence onto my land. The water did not run into my pond, the water was directly pumped into my pond. This went on for 36 hours. The Sheriff's office was immediatly called and they refused to help. When I asked if I could stop the water I was told I would be arrested for trespassing. I asked if they wanted me to take the law into my own hands and they showed up to pull the hose back to the property line, where the water was still gushing out directly into my pond, as a trench had now formed and the water could only go one way now. If his pond overfloed, it would go onto a low spot on his own property. Naturally speaking, his pond would never come in contact with mine. His hoses were up over a ridge to get over to my pond. His water rushed out at such a high rate of speed and quantity that it unearthed, yes, unearthed the main water and natural gas lines leading up to my house. They are now exposed and the earth has washed away underneath them. My national champion stallion drinks out of this pond which now has a brown film over it as well as crud so thick on top that when the breeze blows some of the pond has small ripples in it, but the thick crust does not move whatsoever. The EPA referred me to the DEQ who told me that since I did not have my pond tested right before the pollution, that they could not do anything even if they tested his pond residue and my now polluted pond and the pollutants matched. So I am being penalized for not having my pristine pond tested every couple of weeks in case someone decided to pollute it. Please go to my web site to see this pond before this happened. Pan down about half way. It looks like Hawaii. I video taped this entire pollutoin event. I even videoed the entire pond clean, the moment this started. He constantly shoots bullets into his pond. I don't let anythng un-natural into my pond, well except for this neighbor's pond, force fed unto me and my horse which cannot be moved as the mares are in the back and he is a stallion. I am so serious about my horses drinking water that I buy expensive pharmacutical grade hose so the horses in the back don't have to taste or smell the rubber. And, oh yeh, my pond started smellling and wasps and bees are now thick and swarming. This neighbor was set up for the past 8 years to water his garden with his pond. Why did he not put any or all of this water in his garden, lawn etc on his five acres? I am estimating the water forced on me at 90k gallons, what do you think? How can this be legal? What can I do? There must be a law, but on what books?

Helpless,welcome to the forum.Sorry this had to be your first postI would think you could take him to court for distruction of private property.Also,I would notify the utility companies and let them know whats going on.Hang on,Im not the expert,but Im sure theyll be along shortly.Have you spoken to a lawyer yet?If hes messing with your livelyhood it seems he should be liable.why did he go to the trouble to pump it into your pond?




what a jerk,did I really say that

Are you in either the Hatfield or McCoy family? I can't think of any other reason a neighbor would go to so much trouble to polute your pond.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I hope it all works out for you.

welcome to the forum.

Obviously, we don't have a lot of details.

For instance:

1) Why did he do this?

2) Did you ask him?

3) Do you have bad blood with him?

Some more background would be useful to give better advice.

Also, whatever you do, you may still have to live next to this neighbor for the long haul.

I'd consult with a good attorney.

Hi Helpless...
This sickens me; I cannot imagine your pain and anguish.
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I absolutely like the attorney approach; asap. Also, pull a water sample of the new brew and get it tested asap at the nearest drinking water facility. Your county health dept will have places to take samples for testing; often a nearby hospital.
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Also, is there not a division of (or similar chapter) of the Hooved Animal Society in your neck of the woods? If this water comes up tainted in any certifiable way, your neighbor just attempted to poison your horses. They would definitely be interested and able to push the right buttons.

Thank you for taking the time everyone.

He did this because I lost my husband and I am a woman alone. He also did this because he polluted his pond beyond help and does not want this crap on his own property. Why does anyone dump garbage off of their own property.

I don't understand why any previous dealings with him should be an issue whatsoever. But since you asked, he comes over onto my property and moves my belongings around so he can mow my driveway, which I have asked him not to do. He also did not like my cattle guard so he came over and cut it down and took the metal without my permission. When asked he replies 'I'm duin you a favor, you should appreciate it'. I asked the sheriff to do something about it and nothing happens.

I have never ever asked for his help with anything anytime. He just trespasses when he wants and does things as soon as I drive away. This is one of the more serious things that I was sure the law would help me with. I was wrong, apparently.

I just called the Hooved Animal Humane Society. They only operate in Illinois. I briefly described your situation and she said that they routinely recommend contacting your state department of Agriculture for options and instructions. She added that the Conservation District might also help, but the Dept of Ag. is most likely where you will get the best results.

Yes, I had to watch this go on, helplessly. I have already been told that if it was them, they would be in jail right now.

I love the ASPCA type approach, but I have been told by an official that no vetranarian will go on record with any allowable or unsafe standards for livestock's drinking water. So this discounts that angle.

An attorney told me that I must prove damages. Again, there are no guidelines for livestock safety levels. I want him to pay for my pond to be drained, cleaned, and redone. I will not eat fish out of my pond ever again. I can't board horses in this pasture now either. I need an attorney who is not part of this good 'ol boy system.

I hope I have been misinformed and someone here will re-inform me correctly.

For the record, I would follow thru on the phone call to the dept of Ag. We had a similar occurrence at a neighbor's horse farm, and we got pretty involved when we discovered a half dozen horses in an old barn, in 2 feet of dung and emaciated. We started with the Hooved Animal Humane Society. Then we went to the Dept of Ag and they gave us immediate attention. They pulled their records and verified numerous previous complaints and actions. Ultimately, because of the legal specifics, they were unable to take an immediate action; it was a long detailed story. Ultimately, the Hooved A-H-S came thru and handled the details.
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Here's a real good one. The Ag dept referred me to a specific animal division; I can't remember what department. Anyway, they were putting me off and it P'd me off. I told them "no problem, I'm just gonna take it to ABC channel 7 in Chicago for a story". Boy, did THAT get their attention. I believe it had something to do with the quicker results.

Thank you so much. Are you Polish? I am. Bombieroffski here, shortened to Bombier. I got the Little Rock AR phone book and wrote down the numbers of any, and I mean any agency that might be pertanant. Even the Army Corps of Eng. I have heard that there is a law against moving a body of water against the natural flow of things.

I teach young girls how to ride english during the day, and I call just one agency when I can get a break. I don't want my girls to hear how angry I am. I cannot talk about this without getting hot. As you know these agencies have 'worse than bankers hours.' I will put the Ag Dept at the top of the list for tommorrow.

Thanks again

Polish to French...?
Most everyone I meet thinks that I am Polish; can't figger that one out. Actually, German and Irish.
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Theo Gallus (moderator) is a horse guy; so is his OH, Fishwife. They should be checking in soon. They might have some thoughts.

Here's the number for "Phone in a News Tip" to KATV-7 in Little Rock, Arkansas

(501) 324-7760

And here's the contact page for KATV-7 via that world wide web.

http://cfc.katv.com/contact.cfm

Welcome to the forum.

I had the local newspaper out here yesterday. I hope the photos get in with the article. I wished I had gotten the idea for the media as it occured as the pouring of water was very dramatic for TV. Now the pond is brown during the day and at dusk there is a brown haze in a swirl pattern on top of most of the pond and about 1/4 of it is covered in lumps of things. What I am trying to say is:

1) knowing how the pond looks previously/normally is important as it just loks like a dirty pond normal for our three week drought here. My pond is spring fed and never, I mean never looks skanky even during the severe 2 year drought of 05 & 06.

2) Photos of ponds can be tricky as the time of day, sunlight and many factors that I am not familiar with, also why I am appealing to all of you to explain these things. So when the news crew comes out, they might not see anything dramatic and I will not seem credable unless the sun is at a certain point.

Ski, have you been to my site to see a photo of my horse swimming in this ex-beautiful pond? If not, please do.

Susan

Call P.E.T.A. (People Eating Tasty Animals) and tell them your neighbor is endangering the wellfare of your prize horses and the local authorities are giving no recourse. They love this stuff!

Go to your city councilman. Go to any local organization to let the community know what this guy is doing and the problems he is causing for you. Go to the local news agency and report the incident. Tell them that you are a woman alone and you have tried all the proper avenues available and nobody seems to care. Create enough local sympathy that the guy will be ostracized from the community or perhaps relent from his wrongdoings to avoid public scrutiny. Unless, of course, he is the mayor.


I am sorry for your misfortune. I hope this works out in your favor.

I did see the pic; it made me even madder.
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Call into that news line right away. Don't just email it; get verbal attention. You said you had a video of the crap comin' down the hill...right? They love that stuff for TV.

Some of my relatives are in fact pronouncing it bombeeayye and it hurts as we are not French, we are Polish. Actually my maternal grand father is Irish............ Vicars, no K.

2nd thought...
See how it goes with the Ag dept, first. Then consider as many ramifications as you can anticipate and weigh them out carefully...cuz...if you DO get attention from big city media, all hell will break loose. Don't lose sight of the good things that come from this type of high profile, nor the the potential bad things.

What a mess! Do you have any relatives that can go kick his ass before you turn him over to PETA & the TV people? That picture with your horse in the pond is a great "before". Something has got to be done - this is just not right.....

Helpless, there ARE laws against what your neighbor did. The problem is that they are all civil violations---The sheriff has no authority to act against him.

I am involved in a suit against my neighbor for blocking our access road and damages caused to our property (like your'ss) from water damages when his 18 foot deep, 1 acre pond dam failed --3 TIMES!! It will be hard, but you have to keep the emotion out of this and only present facts. Worrying or complaining about things like bullets in his pond will make your legitimate complaint/damages seem petty and much more likely to be ignored.

The BIGGEST concern is actual damage! If not for the fact that our neighbor blocked the only access road to our 60 acres, I would not have sued over the water damages. The water damage cost me a total of $4000 in repairs. We paid $55K for our property and have paid the lawyers another $50K! Law suits are not cheap, but you DO need to see a lawyer right away and at least get an injunction against him and a letter sent requesting the costs of cleanup.

Talk to several lawyers for 2 reasons. First, this will help you find the best lawyer for THIS problem and second, ANY lawyer you talk to about this with cannot represent the other person against you.

Best of luck to you and I am sorry you seem to have my jackass neighbor.

I'll say it again, take the anger and emotion out of the situation and think of what the actual cost to repair vs. suit will be and if you are prepared to fight. My suit is pretty much a slam dunk win for us, but has been in court for almost 3 years now and will end up costing more than our property.

One more thing I saw after reading the thread slower. If in fact you have video of the damages actually happening, the go straight to the prosecuter and demand trespassing charges be filed.

The exposed utility pipes are 400ft from the meter at the road and 300 feet from my house. I believe they are my responsability and now they are not up to code. This might get their attention in the way of disconnecting me until I am up to code. I don't know.........

I am told the health dept only deals with septic tank issues contaminating water wells..........

Thank you for reminding me about channel 7 little rock. They have something called 7 on your side........

The county health department will be able to provide you with the names of laboratory sources for water testing. You will have to pay the lab a nominal fee, but it will document the "after" sampling. You really need to do this immediately. Let's face it; it's the whole (and only) reason that you are here. The washed out ridge and trespassing is piddle. The attention-getting story here is the damage to your pristine pond and the horribly negative effect it has had on a hard-working woman doing her level best to single-handedly scrape out a living, breed beautiful horses, and teach young girls a fine art. That's the story I see.

After hearing some of h2a's answers, I think we have to pause.

I didn't read everything that all of us posted after her answers but wanted to get a message out right now.

From what she has described, she may be vulnerable.

h2a, please consider what local support you have in relatives, friends, or the law. From what you said, this neighbor has no respect for you or your land. Creating any further animosity right now, or antagonizing this neighbor right now could create a dangerous situation for you.

Not that I disagree with anyone's advice thus far, but what's done has been done, and any actions because of it have to consider the future and your safety.

Very sorry to hear your problem & problem neighbor, h2a.

As noted above, I suggest personal protection of some sort as Sunil said, and find an attorney that will pursue civil action against the neighbor for ALL his trouble.

Brettski, here we would try just about everything else before contacting animal rights groups. Some of them believe it is wrong to ride horses or confine them with fences. They could make h2a's neighbor seem like a lesser problem.

No, it's too late. When I lost my husband he came over and threatened me. His father was the head dog catcher in town for 30 years and this is the good old boy system. I need help outside of this GOB group. I made up my mind years ago that I will die defending my beloved farm. I used to bow down to him and try to help him and how do you say k*** someone's a** nicely? Here, in this area, it is seen as a weakness that people prey on. Where I come from, if there is a woman alone, we, even as kids would occasionally go and ask her if she needed any help moving heavy things etc. etc.

This may seem over the top to some of you but if I sell and move now, with the sewer only 1/2 mile away, I will loose potentially a couple of hundred thousand dollars and what little self-respect I have left. If I move in a sacrafice sale, I will have to get rid of most of my babies. I am 15 minutes from everything Greater Fort Smith AR. I have a chance to begin a business where there is NO, I MEAN NO, COMPETITION. English Riding. The population of GFS is 125k. Giving up now would kill me.

If I move everytime someone does something to me, what will I have left. I must stop and fight at some point. I don't want to be a woman alone, but any men I meet cannot handle the responsiblity of my farm. They are happy to work for someone else, go home, have a few beers, watch TV and go to bed. I want to be someone and have somethings. Speaking of which, is there anyway of searching the members here to see if anyone is in my area?

Thank you for your concern but I must press on. If I could find a way to sue him for this he would leave me alone. Right now he is wiping the floor with me.

I am here from Canada legally with a green card. I have no one. What few friends I have, talk tough until push comes to shove. A person cannot get those lifetime friends who come to your aid, this late in life. This is also why this neighbor is wiping the floor with me. Again, this is not the way I was raised.

I am too broke to go home and must make a go of it here......

h2a, nobody is saying to pack up and move right now.

Regardless of this current situation, but even moreso because of it, you should determine what all of your exposures are, and take measures to protect them.

For instance, are your horses at risk? Are there children around? What are the fire hazards?

We don't know exactly what you are dealing with, but from how you describe it, I think you've got to consider safety first. If that means turning the other cheek right now for the pond incident, well, I don't know what to say.

I could also add this. If I had a neighbor that did such an overt act of disrespect to me, and being a man, I would still consider what further damage could be done to me BEFORE I reacted.

THIS MAN HAD HIS BUDDY FROM THE FOREST SERVICE GIVE ME A TICKET FOR LITTERING WHEN WE HAD THE TORMADO OF 2001 GO THROUGH HERE. IT TOOK OUT MY BARN AND GRABBED A TARP AND PUT IT IN A TREE 30 FEET IN THE AIR. I HAD WITNESSES AND PROOF. I AM A CANADIAN. WE DON'T LITTER. I AM AS PASSIONATE ABOUT LITTERING AS LUSK IS ABOUT PONDS. HE DRUG ME THROUGH THE COURT SYSTEM WITH HIS BUDDY THE JUDGE PRESIDING WHO FOUND ME GUILTY OF LITTERING. I NOW HAVE LITTERING ON MY RECORD AND MUST LIVE WITH THIS FOREVER. HOW CAN I BE RESPONSIBLE FOR AN ACT OF GOD? WHEN YOU SEE PEOPLE ON TV AFTER A STORM THEY TALK ABOUT FINDING SOMEONES PHOTO ALBUM ETC. IN THEIR YARD 1/2 A MILE AWAY FROM WHERE IT CAME FROM. DO THE POLICE IMMEDIATLY GO AND GIVE THE POOR SOUL WHO LOST THE PRECIOUS ITEM A TICKET FOR LITTERING? OF COURSE NOT.

As I said, it is too late for that. I am a Catholic and nicely refused to go to their church. I am now a heathen (sp?) This is when the trouble started. His wife is only alowed to wear dresses/skirts. He would come over here and demand to speak to my husband who was napping. He refused to speak to me because I am female. He sights his rifle in using a table top. When he misses, the bullets richochet(sp?) 1000 feet and go whizzing by my head. I hide inside with my babies when he does this. This should be reckless endangerment with a firearm.

Did you read the part about him comming over and moving my gates and property to other parts of my property etc?

He puts chicken litter on his garden right next to my house every spring. I must take anti-nausea medicine during this time in order to go outside and take care of my horses.

Are you getting the picture? This is only part of the story. No one will get him to leave me alone. This latest is so serious that I was hoping the Feds would get involved. They don't care, I hope, about the kangaroo court system here.

And by the way, my yard is clean, no junk cars etc, I am a Reagan Conservative, rarely drink, hate drugs, don't smoke, and have dated only a few times in the last 8 years since I lost my husband. There is no reason for this other than I am a single woman from Canada, WHERE THE BEST FISHING IN THE WORLD IS. lol. I just want to raise my horses and provide a safe conservative place for girls to enjoy horses and be left alone. Usually when people do this to others it is because they are tatooed to the hilt, have facial peircings, get drunk, have parties, have indiscrimanant sex, etc. etc. I don't deserve this.

Everyone I have talked to except the Sheriff thinks that this is illeagal. I am hoping someone here knows where that statute is located and who will enforce it.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP, PLEASE KEEP IT UP!!!!!!!!

I have no children, the barn is metal, I have 7 dogs. One is a 130pound ST Labranard. My small dogs are better watch dogs according to an ex burglar on TV. I used to take every single thing he dished out because of the fear of my horses. Do you see where that got me? I must take a stance. This escalates more and more every year. It must be stopped. What the H*** is going to be next?????????

As far as him coming qver and "doing"things,I would put up no tresspassing signs.But,if he has the good ole boys on his side the media might be your only salvation

We are all sensitive to your plight. We can offer suggestions and opinions, but they will all be based on what each of us knows from our own backgrounds. As you can see, these are obviously varied backgrounds.
The one common denominator we carry is your safety. It's easy for us to sit at our keyboards and hammer out instructions and ideas, but ultimately it is your final decision. We trust and hope that your decisions are all made with the best plan to maintain safety for you and all that is about you that you care about. Please do your best to maintain a cool head. Stay organized, document as much as you can, and continue to look further down the road.

If the local police won't do anything, contact the state police. Typically the GOB doesn't run that high.

What kind of horses do you have?

Good luck with the SOB.

H2a,

With the exception of the Little Rock area, most of Arkansas is still ruled with "Hillbilly Justice". I don't believe you will find any sympathy there for the shooting, chicken litter, or his being a jerk. In Arkansas, that is life in the country. The actual damages to your property, specifically the damages to the pond and ditches made ARE illegal and the neighbors responsiblity, BUT, YOU have to file civil action against him.

While I am in full agreement with your situation, you will lose this battle if you don't remove the emotion from this situation. The law deals in facts, not emotions. It sounds like he is doing things to pull your chain and he's winning. As I said before, you are going to HAVE to get a lawyer to take action against this guy before anything will happen. That is expensive but really your only option.

Again, I hope all turns out well for you.

Helpless,
I don't know if these links can help but maybe try giving them a call. The DNR usaully takes water problems very seriously . usually so much so that it makes it hard for the little guys to even have a pond. I would think that someone piosoning a pond would be right up their ally.

http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/...as&stateCode=05

http://www.agfc.com/

Good luck!
Let us know how you make out.

Cooler heads should prevail.

Step back away from it all.
As Rainman says push the emotions aside.

My suggestion: Bake some cookies. Wait until he is not home. Go next door & have cookies & coffee & conversation with his wife. She is prob. hearing a different story of what has gone on btw you & her husband.

If this turns into a media or legal circus will your customers feel safe sending their daughters to a ranch with an unhinged crazy neighbor on the loose? I wouldn't.

I don't mean to be hard but when someone isolates themselves from the community they live in they can expect problems.
Long term solution: Visit the local church once a month or so even if it's not your faith. Go to local BBQ's put on by fire departments etc.
You said you just want to be left alone. I'm mostly the same way. Always been a loner. But there are consequences to not having a network of friends to help when you need it.

If i was you i would have drove my truck thru his fence no back up i would have drove my tractor thru his fence picked up that pump with my front end loader and dumped it into his pond! I have spent thousands of dollars on my pond and would gladly go to jail and pay the fine for what i did. Better yet you should have put a clamp on that hose so it would hopefully tear up his pump! Man u got way more patience than i for sure! And the Hatfields and Mccoys would be on for sure. everything that was growing in the ground at his place would mysteriously die.

I think that's some of the best advice I've seen anywhere in a long time. At the church I go to, we'd be absolutely thrilled to have anybody from another denomination come by and help with a bake sale, or help the kids with their coloring books on Sunday morning. I couldn't care less if they have a slightly different way of expessing their love for God. Sorry if this is "non-pond", but I think it's applicable strongly to this pond situation.

I would take a breath wait a couple of weeks and then bake the man a fine looking pie or jar up some jelly and send it to him from a freind or with a thankyou note about cutting him off in town with your car and sign it Love Marge. Make sure you put those special items in that make it tasty . I am sure your horse has something to add to the mix.

Then where a smile when you see him in the future.


Good Luck

For every bad person, there are hundreds of good ones. You have found many of those good ones right here on this forum. I know it is tough when you are actually the one in this situation, but please try to focus on the good people. Otherwise, the bad ones win.

Let's focus on things you can control. Take care of yourself and your animals first. Then let's move on to the pond. On this forum you will find much help with getting your pond better. You may be very surprised how quickly the pond will come back and heal itself. Many on here could post dramatic photos of damaged ponds that have done just that.

You have received much good advice already on this forum. Let's work on solutions rather than dwell on the problems. Rise above the level of the problem neighbor, take the high road, and make everything come together better than before. It will make you a stronger person.

A final personal note: An attorney once told me that 'Principles will make you poor.' (Of course, this was after he told me I had a great civil case, after I paid him, and after two years of no progress with our case of being wronged.) It is not comforting, but relying on our civil system may prolong the pain versus moving on with your life. As you have already learned with your husband, life is too short. Make the best of it.

I have flatracers, (I train race horses humanely) Appaloosas, Warmbloods and Thoroughbreds. I am strictly English. You will get a great idea of what I have on my web page.

H2a,

Based on everything you have said, you are dealing with a bully. My guess is that he won't stop until someone makes him stop. My piece of advice -- buy a video camera. If you had a videotape of his pump flowlines running on your land, you would have lawyers climbing over each other to take your case.

You need to start videotaping his trespassing and other harassing behaviors. Hopefully, you can tape his actions without him seeing the camera, because being caught on tape will really put him in a rage. I totally agree with Sunil, at this point you do have to think about your safety first.

If you do go to court against him eventually, a pile of videotape evidence is hard for a judge to ignore. If the judge gets too "good-old-boy" against solid evidence, then the judge could get into trouble.

Also, check with your past clients about photographs of your pond. If any of my daughters had taken riding lessons from you, I guarantee my wife would have several pictures (dozens?) with the girl, a horse, and part of your pond in the background.

Best of luck, and keep us posted.

Rod

FR Sorry to have such long posts. You must have skimmed over the part where I said I have video footage of my pristine pond the first minute he started this, the hoses up over the ridge going directly into my pond, the hoses through the fence, the water gushing out at a terrific rate, his pond now empty,and the now skanky mess I am left with. These are video dated with my automatically dated cell phone. I have many before photos of my pond. Two of them are on my web sight. One is the horse in the pond and the other is the beautiful sunset.

The first and only attorney told me that I cannot prove damages.

I wouldn't stop at one attorney. Find one that will do it on a contingency basis, aka "We don't get paid unless you get paid." I do business in Ft. Smith all the time, there are a TON of lawyers there.

Svoberts, unfortunately you won't find any attorney to do this type case on a contingency. They cost too much, no insurance company to pay for it, and settlements are in the low 5 figure ranges for ACTUAL damages only without even legal fee recovery. These are lose-lose-lose cases.

H2a, if the video does indeed show damages actually being done (ie ditches being formed/caving in) and intentional tresspass, Then the "one and only" lawyer is an absolute idiot! Go talk to many attorneys, it will takes years to get to court and settle this. You will end up spending more on the suit than you will on repairs though---very very sad, but very very true.

We understand how angry you are about this and we are too, but when it comes to a court, anger makes your petition almost worthless, courts only deal with facts.

Now for a dose of reality, If the damages result in a dirty pond that will clear on it's own in a few weeks and there are no fish killed, as a matter of law, there are NO damages to recover. That is what is so bad about this type of problem, there are really no punitive damage that will be awarded unless you take them to court many, MANY times, at your own expense.

SHERIFF'S INCIDENT REPORT - The reporter got ahold of the sheriff's incident report and snail mailed a copy to me. The neighbor's social security number, date of birth etc were blocked out and unreadable. This was done by the Sheriff's office. My social security number, date of birth and all the necessary items to steal my identity are left clearly readable. This report was obtained by 'jo blo' off of the street.

I would do research,gather as much evidence as possible and go to a higher authority.
On the other hand I might just shoot him,but thats just me.

I am just a horsewoman. WHO IS THE HIGHER POWER? How do I get on 20/20?

I'm sorry, but what exactly do you mean by this?

Bruce,

By that comment, I believe H2A means anybody could of walked in off the street and gotten a copy of that report which contained all the information she noted....SS#, DOB etc.

H2A please correct me if this is incorrect.

Russ

If you or anyone walked into the Crawford County Sheriff's Office and asked for an incident report involving Me and good'ol boy around the date of such n such they would have said hold on. They would have gone to the filing cabinet and pulled the incedent report. They would go over to the copier and made a copy. After giving them $2.50, you would walk away with 2 peices of paper. One paper listed the neighbor's name only. His SS#, Date of birth, etc was crudely blocked off with a thick permanant marker. My name, SS#, date of birth etc. is clearly typed in and visable. Why is my SS# even used by these people? I did not give it to them. They retrieved it from years ago when the state of AR used SS# for driver's licences.

Susan

Sunil and Bruce have both given sage advise. Integrate and focus on the important things. I was isolated and enjoyed it, but, the daily wear and tear of dealing with people who always viewed me as a outsider finally got to the point that I either had to change or move. So I changed. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I had thought and most all of my neighbors consider me "one of the good foreigners". I will never be one of them, but they are respectful now, with just a few exceptions, they no longer steal from or cheat me.

I attend weddings, funerals and sons becoming monk parties on a regular basis as a favored guest. It is called, Go along to get along.

I will admit many times I wanted to get even, but common sense prevailed. My getting even now consists of never rewarding bad behavior, workmanship or attitude.

Spend you cash and emotion on getting your pond and property back in shape. Integrate into the community, post signs and call the sheriff every time you have a problem. Stay rational, stick to the issue and you will eventually be a happy person again, give the monkey on your back to the sheriff.

As for not rewarding bad behavior, in your case an anonymous call or letter to Fox16, they did a piece a while back on identy theft, telling them how a county sheriff is selling ssn to anyone who walks in the door might just put the good ole boy on the hot seat for a few minutes. It is not against the law for him to do it, but, as a law enforcement officer he would be considered unethical by his peers and at election time could be a point. He knows the value of the ssn or he would not have taken the trouble to blank out the other one.

I have read this thread several times over the past four days but haven't weighed in on this simply because it is way outside my area of expertise and to me there is nothing humorous about what is happening to you Helpless (most of the time humor, or at attempt at such, is what I interject into a thread).

I am heartsick to hear what is happening to you. Whether or not you have any criminal or civil legal remedies are beyond the scope of my knowledge but to me there is no doubt that morally this neighbor of yours is severely lacking.

We had a situation not to far from where I lived with my parents -- before I got married -- that was interesting to say the least. A retired gentleman had a younger neighbor that was harrassing him. He stole the gentleman's firewood, and did all kinds of malicious things to his property. And he not only got away with it he mocked the retired gentleman. The gentleman reported all of this to the local police but they refused to take him seriously. I guess they wrote him off as a nutjob. Finally the retired gentleman couldn't take it anymore and shot the guy -- once again stealing his firewood -- and killed him. Suddenly the local police take great interest in the situation. The gentleman is of course arrested and is serving time in prison last I heard. But what really floored the local "good ol' boys" was he was a retired policeman from the second largest city in the state! I guess if they had bothered to take any interest in the situation they would have found that out.

PIT BULL ATTACK ON VIDEO

I have a video of the neighbor's pit bull attacking my old blind mare. The sheriff's deputy, while staring at the video told me that since I had not taken the horse to the vet and spent money on injuries, they would do nothing. I started the video as I ran down there, deep into my property line. My barn and 'one of a kind' riding ring is clearly visible. When I tried to chase away the pit bull, he stacked at attention and tried to stare me down.

I wish I lived closer, I would volunter to come over and help you out with the BS your going through. Doesn't any of your clients have any pull in your area?

Good point. Surely, the parents of the kids that you teach are in positions to be helpful. If they "don't want to get involved" remind them that this guy is likely to do anything anytime. Of course, then they might panic and pull their kids out of your riding classes. This is really sad - you need to get to the sheriff's boss - how about the DA's office?

Reminds me of the summer I had a guy come out and strafe me with his huge power boat anytime I fished within 50 yds. of his pier. Mind you this was a public lake and I had a right to fish anywhere I wanted to. When I asked a C.O. (supervisor of the entire region) if I got this on video, with a boat number and the guy in the boat if they could do something, the answer was, "No. "I need a name to go with the face." In other words don't bother me with this.

Needless to see I haven't been on a local public lake in a few years. It's just no fun anymore. The boat and jet ski traffic is horrendous and the rudeness is appalling.

None of my clients know what is happening. When my 4 year old student gets on a horse and they start setting off fireworks on the other side of the fence, I just laugh it off when the parents say 'don't the horses spook when they do that'. I say, 'just think, when we are at a show and a car backfires somewhere, the horses won't even flinch'.

The most powerful client I have at the moment is a surgeon. I feel they will pull their kids if they know. These law enforsement Barney Fifes and judges around here don't have enough sense to put their kids in a really good program where we don''t abuse animals and we learn the parts of a horse, and other conservative curriculi. (is that a word?) lol

Do you think that they are trying to run you off, and buy your property - for a cheap price?

Helpless, how about calling this neighbor and discussing the damages? Record the call. Maybe even an across the fence coversation could correct at least some of the issues (record that too just in case). No matter what, don't put yourself in harms way though and keep emotions out of it. Simply state the facts and ask him how he is going to correct the damages. Having a recording may help in taking further action if he doesn't do the right thing but he is your neighbor and you should give him the opportunity to make peace.

The recordings could make a good background track on a video posted on youtube with a link emailed to everyone that could help.

Ryan,that youtube thingy sounds like a real good idea to me.The more publicity the better I would think.

Sending the video to others in his social circle or even his minister may yield some results. Peer pressure can be quite powerful in tight knit communities...and is a lot cheaper than a lawyer.

Are there any Arkansas or OK. good samaritans on the forum looking for extra duty?