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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.


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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.

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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......

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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.


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"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."

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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!!!!!!!!

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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?????????

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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


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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.


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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.

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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.



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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.

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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.


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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.

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 Originally Posted By: Ric Swaim
...Visit the local church once a month or so even if it's not your faith..


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.


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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


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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.


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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.



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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.

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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.


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

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 Originally Posted By: helpless2act
This report was obtained by 'jo blo' off of the street.


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


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