Imagine


August 14th, 2004

Imagine
 
You're driving through Manning Park. It's another hot-spell this relentless summer but the shelter of the mountain pass, flanked by steep terain, towering evergreens and cool running rivers, preside. As you come up on Allison flats, the acrid smell of wood-smoke greets you.
 
Not the smell of holiday camp-fires, so much as it is the smell of a wild-fire; your attention turns investigative. By the time you get to the lodge, still no sign of the source and as you distance yourself from the lodge, the smoke disipates and you begin to relax, again.
 
It appeared to be hotter back there on the flats and though it is still relatively flat, the pass has narrowed, winding along with the turns of the Similikimeen River, the smoke is gone and the cool breeze returns to your nostrils. As you look ahead, down the road, you see the structure of a park boundary sign....but what's this??????
   www.
ourcourtssuck.com
 
Okay, so you're driving down the big hill off the Anarchist Pass, coming down into Osooyos. The road twists and turns down the steep grade, rock outcroppings blasted to make way for the road, here and there, marked with graffitti. What's this?
www.
ourcourtssuck.com
        www.
        ourcourtssuck.com
                   www.
                ourcourtssuck.com
 
Okay, so you're leaving Osooyos, heading up the big into the Anarchist Pass. As you aproach the big hair-pin near the top...
www.
ourcourtssuck.com
 
Okay, okay - you're at the intersection of Highways 33 and 3. You can go left towards Midway, Greenwood, Grand Forks and on to the East Kootenays. As you round the corner past the Goldpanner cafe (GREAT burgers! ;-), you can't miss it right in front of you on the bridge abuttment -
www.
ourcourtssuck.com
 
Okay, Okay - so you go west, instead and you're just going around that last big hair-pin, leaving Rock Creek and the Goldpanner Cafe, nestled below and behind you in the valley bottom as you begin your westerly pilgrimage. There, on the right side of the road, just ahead of you -
www.
ourcourtssuck.com
 
So you keep driving, determined to take in the beauty of southern British Columbia, in spite of all that graffitti.
 
Now, when you travel this route, the Anarchist Pass, or any other route through British Columbia, a working knowledge of the history of that area, never ceases to enhance the experience. It is for this reason that you will want to stop in at the Canyon Creek Ranch, talk to the proprietor, Wolfgang Schmidt and browse through his collection of curios, artifacts, historical references, ancient medicinal compounds, poetry, famous quotes and timeless words of wisdom. You'll be thrilled that you did.
 
The Canyon Creek bridge is an awesome structure, the longest span of any bridge in the Commonwealth, that spans a gorge, more than 300 feet above the canyon floor. Built in the fifties with hand-poured concrete, in the middle of winter, lanterns were employed to keep the concrete from freezing.
 
A man was seen on this bridge with my stencil. No, he wasn't "a jumper". You guessed it -
www.
ourcourtssuck.com -
and had just finished "tagging" the right side on the beginning of the bridge approach, travelling west. He was working the south side, on his 2nd "tag", when a pick-up truck rolled to a stop.
 
"What are you doing?!" the passenger inquired, some-what incredulously. "I'm tagging the bridge." he replied. "You can't do that!" was the retort.
 
The 1st clue was the flashing lights in the grill of the truck, a clever disguise though it was, with the a.t.v. in the back. As they rolled ahead to park safely off the bridge, he furiously sprayed to complete what he anticipated to be, his final tag. As he wrapped up the final pass of the spray-bomb, they stood hovering over my crouched form, one of them dangling his RCMP badge for  inspection.
 
They had the courtesy (and curiosity) to ask the all-important WHY he was doing this - "defacing public property".
 
He explained that he'd tried the "civil route", tried protesting quietly and had even paraded with a sign as big as the one, the subject of this conversation, in front of the local courthouse but that he was still being ignored - so now he's escalating the campaign.
 
The officer patiently listened and then agreed that it was his right to his opinion and that the web-site was also his right - a proper and rightful way to conduct himself - but not by defacing public property. He politely listened and then explained that the officer was mistaken - the website is about fact and not opinion - it is about allegations of criminal wrong-doing, carried out by those who administer our justice system. As a criminal investigator, it was now his duty to investigate these allegations.
 
And then the graffiti-artist acquiessed, admitting that there are undoubtedly other ways to get the message across without "defacing public property".
 
By the smiles on their faces, it was plain they were pleased, leaving them with the impression that justice had been served, right there on the side of the road - no need for punitive damages as there was shown sufficient remorse, along with a promise to "change my ways"...
 
Yeah, right! Just long enough for them to turn around and disappear over the hill on their way back to Ossooyos - he tagged the bridge at least 6 more times!
www.
ourcourtssuck.com
 
Public Notice
This truck has been seen crossing the American Border @ Osooyos, British Columbia
(I'm surprised they let me back in! BigGrins.gif (1K))
S_FordCropped (43K)
Suspected involvement in indiscriminate defacing of public property.
 
Yours very truly,
 
David-Hunter: Thomson
The OurCourtsSuck guy
 
 

A New development unravelled while returning from a trip to Grand Forks with Karl Eisbrenner and Robert Nicholson, about a week or so, later. We were pulled over on Hwy 33, just south of Midway by RCMP Constable Halvorson of the Midway detachment, just south of Midway. Constable Halvorson explained that he had pulled me over because he ran my licence plate and it came back, "unattached".

Upon inspection, we discovered that a blob of concrete had obscured a letter on the plate, making it look like another.

As I turned to depart, Constable Halvorson inquired about my signs, mentioning their striking similarity to others that he had noticed and/or was aware of. Might I know anything about such a co-incidence, he continued.

I began, explaining how I had custom-ordered a stencil for the signs for the sides of my truck; so could anybody, I suppose...
He assured me that ther had been no complaint filed, as yet, so his inquiry was just of a personal interest...

So I launched into how it was now also his duty, having now been made aware of my website, he offered no contest, wishing me a safe trip. I happily wished him well as I climbed into the truck, started the engine and drove away, glancing repeatedly back in the rear-view mirror.

"That was Constable Halvorson;" Rob said. "he's a real stickler for seat-belts!" I hadn't been wearing a seat-belt; none of us had been wearing a seat-belt and nor were we, upon leaving. I checked the rear-view, one more time. "Still hasn't pulled out, behind us", I thought - "seatbelt law's a bad law."
But that's another story -

Anyway, we stopped in Midway and joined an acquaintance for coffee at the local restaurant with the big glass windows, just off the highway. About half-way through our first cup of coffee, Constable Halvorson, accompanied by another RCMP officer, pulled up in his squad car, making I contact, pointing at me, then jerking beck his thumb. "You - come here!" he commanded in a gesture.

"Mee-ee?" I gestured back with a shrug.

"You!" he assured me with another jab of his finger.

I got out of my chair, Rob right behind me. Having lived in Midway himself, Rob had already told us his history with Constable Halvorson that began shortly, upon the constable's transfer to Midway. It seemed reasonable that Rob would make a good liason, if not a witness.

Constable Halvorson was already out of the cruiser, intercepting us as we came out of the door. Rob wasn't welcome. He wished to interview me, alone, down the road, at the detachment. It turned out that now there was a complaint about some of the signage. I suggested that perhaps I should have my lawyer present, rather than just our mutual acquaintance, Rob, to act as a witness. "As a matter of fact," I offered, "I just happen to have one with me. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

Constable Halvorson assured me that the interview would be purely voluntary on my part and I thought, "Yeah and you can pull me over, down the road, impound my truck..." "Go ahead and finish your coffee, first." he offered as I agreed to follow him down to the station.

"I'll give you half an hour, then I'll come looking for you." Rob said, loud enough for the officer in the cruiser to hear, also.

As agreed I showed up at the detachment, parking my truck, front and centre. Constable Halvorson greeted me, trying to set my mind at ease as he escorted me along to an interview room.

I did my best to co-operate while not admitting my part, insisting that he would have to be quite specific as to location and certainly even then, it might not have been me. Between that and my vivid description of my site and the crimes that are evidenced, through-out, the half-hour was up and Rob was phoning to inquire as to my state, generally, if not legally.

We wound up the interview with my focus on the greater evils, evidenced, unwilling to take credit, specifically with anything that had to do with graffiti, almost an hour had lapsed. Now I was being asked to sign a document, verifying that I gave my consent for a vehicle search. And I thought, "You could pull me over on the way out of town..." as I signed the consent form.

On leaving the building, I bolted ahead, offering to save some time and trouble. I opened the passenger door and reaching under the seat, I pulled out a can of blue spray-paint and placed it on the hood of my truck. "Is this one of the cans of paint that you used to deface the roadside?" he asked. I picked it up, again, shaking it. "No", I replied, "this can's too full."

Constable Halvorson also explained to me, that he would be writing a report, based on his interview with me and forward it, along with the complaint, to Crown Counsel's office. They would decide whether to proceed with any charges or not.

It appears as though Crown Counsel has given me "carte blanche" to tag all of the West Kootenays! It may even be good for tourism!

Back to Our Courts...

My Horror Story

Evidence

Another Horror Story

Threats

Politics

Addendum

Divorce Court is an Industry

Howard Berge Avoids Impaired Charge

Bushman of the Shuswap

Pedophile Protection Program?

Where Do Missing Children Go?

A Tale of Two Lawyers

Pig in a Poke

Karl-Heintz Eisbrenner - the Brouwer/Kuiper Case

Authorities

WCB, Attorney General and Others, Acting in Collusion, Fraud and Other Shenanigans

Revenue Canada Caught in the Act

Eddy Haymour's Plea to the Queen

BookStore

Take a Trip & Never Leave the Farm

Buy My Signs

From the Desk of a "Mad" Man

Email Your B.C. MLA

Email Your MP

Email Your Senator

Links