Warden Tales: The ABCs of Rocket Science

www.ncwildlife.org

In recent years, North Carolina’s wildlife officers have received much recognition for their efforts in making our state’s waterways safe from those who operate their boats while impaired.  In particular, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) recognized North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s Division of Law Enforcement as MADD’s agency of the year in 2010 for their efforts.  More recently, wildlife officers have taken a lead role in the On the Road, On the Water - Don't Drink and Drive campaign that targets impaired operators on and around our waterways.  Wildlife officers are true professionals in these types of law enforcement activities.

However, this wasn’t always the case.  In the early days of my career, we had very limited training in detecting impaired boat operators.  The drunks we arrested were usually severely impaired or had been involved in an accident.

That began to change in the late 1980s.  We received training in Standardized Field Sobriety Testing.  The tests were those used by officers who worked traffic enforcement and were difficult to transfer to the marine environment.  A friend of mine who was a state trooper said that his favorite preliminary test was to ask the operator to recite the alphabet (this later became a common test that was validated).  He reasoned that if you were too drunk to say your ABCs then you were too drunk to drive.

Sometime in the early 1990s, Fred Weisbecker and I were patrolling on Lake Lure, a small lake in western North Carolina.  I really disliked working on that lake.  First, it was very small - we could go from one end to the other in less than ten minutes.  Second, the lake is surrounded by lake front homes occupied by people who considered themselves affluent to the point that they expected to be left alone to do as they pleased.  These people may only visit their lake house a couple of times a summer, so their boats were often not in compliance with the law.  The combination of rich people getting citations will almost always result in complaints against officers.  And finally, in spite of its small size, the boat traffic was heavy, making for a bone jarring day on the water.

Birds-eye view of Lake Lure

But, something that made working Lake Lure interesting was the variety of people we encountered on the lake.  It wasn’t uncommon come across people from all over the country.

So, Fred and I were out there putting around the docks of million dollar homes, watching $75,000 boats filled with teenagers zip around when we saw an old runabout bobbing near the end of a dock.  Those old boats always drew our attention because there was almost certainly some type of violation occurring.  We approached the boat and saw two men, one older and one younger, just sitting in the boat.  The older man was obviously impaired, but neither were operating the boat.  We checked their equipment and warned the older man not to operate the vessel - the younger guy wasn't drinking.  He gave us a slurred “Okay” and we pulled away.  Then we did what all good game wardens do – we pulled around behind the next dock, and waited for the drunk to get behind the wheel – which he did as soon as we were out of sight.  We stopped him as he began to pull away.

I began to put him through my limited repertoire of field sobriety tests.  He basically clapped his hands when I asked him to do the hand pat test.  Then, I began the setup before asking him to recite his alphabet.  I asked about his educational background (college graduate) and what type of work he did. 

"Houston, we have a problem"

“I am an aerospace engineer with NASA.”

I clarified by asking, “So, you are a rocket scientist?” 

“I guess you could say that.” 

“So, as a rocket scientist, you shouldn’t have any problem reciting the alphabet, beginning with A and ending with Z.”

“Absolutely not.”

He ran through “A,B,C,D,E,F,G” but then began to stumble incoherently to a Spanish sounding, "El emento P" (L,M,N,O,P) and then more babbling and random letters before triumphantly ending with a strong “Zzzz!!!” (there was an implied, "Tada!!!").

We placed him under arrest and we made our way back to my vehicle.  On the drive to jail, he said, “I’m really not that drunk.”

I said, “You are an aerospace engineer that can’t recite your ABCs.  What do you think the judge will say?”

He hung his head and after a few seconds he whispered, “Damn.”

Warden Tales: The Imaginary Spotlighters

Having spent the past four month decompressing from a 29 year career in wildlife law enforcement, my reflections are increasingly of how great of job I had.  I met many interesting people, had numerous experiences that I usually took for granted at the time, and worked with some of the most dedicated men and women I have ever met.  I thought I would use a few posts to share some experiences.

***

It is not unusual for a wildlife officer to get called out after hours on a report.  In fact, it is expected.  Most of the calls are predictable: a late night boating accident over the 4th of July holiday; a closed season trout fishing violation in March; or a bear wandering through town in June.  The seasons dictate the reports, though occasionally we get calls that seem a little out of character for the month.

Over the course of my career, I experienced illegal deer kills during every month of the year.  But, the vast majority tended to come in the fall and early winter.  So, it struck me as odd when I received a call from a young girl that someone had killed a deer in her yard on a sweltering August night.  The timing wasn’t the only strange thing about the call.  The girl didn’t have any details of the incident.  When pressed for specifics, she repeated that her daddy had told her to call.  I asked her their address and she could only vaguely describe where the house was located in an isolated area of the county.  I asked to speak to her dad and she said that he was in the yard.  Weird.

I threw on my uniform and started for her house.  I knew roughly where the house was located and realized that the place was a considerable distance from the state maintained road up a long, washed out driveway.  Most night deer hunters shoot from a public road so they can make a quick getaway.  And, I knew that there wasn’t any farming in that area that summer.  Nothing about the call seemed like the “typical” night deer hunting scenario.

The closer I got to the area, the more jittery I felt about the whole situation.  This was years before cell phones and I knew that I would have limited ability to call out on the radio because of poor coverage in that area.  Once I got to the house, I would be own my own.

I drove up the washed out drive and parked in front of the old farm house.  I saw a woman look briefly in my direction through the open front door.  Then she stepped over and pushed the door closed.  At this point the little hairs on the back of my neck were raised and every sound seemed amplified.  I climbed the three cinder block steps to the porch and knocked on the door.  No one answered.  Another round of knocks were met with a child peeking through the window curtains beside the door.  Then a voice called out from beyond the arc of the porch light in the yard.

“Over here.”

I took a couple of tentative steps and replied, “Where are you.”

“I’m over here.”

I swept my flashlight across the yard and saw a man sitting cross legged near a grape trestle.  I took a couple more steps.

“They killed a deer,” he said.  “They put it in a sack and carried it into the woods.”

As he pointed toward the woods, I saw a pistol in his hand.

“What kind of pistol have you got there,” I asked.  I glanced back at the house and saw that the porch light had been switched off.

He held up a pistol in each hand.  “A nine millimeter and a .45.”  He added, “I’m not crazy.”

I was certain that he could read my mind, because those were the exact thoughts racing through my head.

“I’m sure you’re not crazy,” I lied.  “But it would make me more comfortable if you weren’t waving those pistols around.  How ‘bout if you laid them on the ground and slid back a couple of feet?  Then we can talk about the deer that was killed without either of us accidentally getting hurt.”

There was an eerily long moment of silence.  He shocked me by saying, “Okay.”  He added, “But want you to know that I’m not crazy.”

He laid both pistols on the ground and slid back.  I moved up and unloaded both pistols, sticking one in each of my pockets.  I once again fibbed that I didn't want them to get wet laying on the ground.  He then told me how three guys came out of the woods, killed a deer, stuffed it in a feed sack, and then returned to the woods.  I looked around a bit.  There were no tracks in the dew and or any sign of a deer being killed.  I convinced him to follow me back to the house and told him that I would come back during the daylight to investigate further.

This time his wife answered my knocks.  She confirmed that he had "some issues" that had become worse since he went off his medication a few days earlier.  She also pointed out that he had never been violent, but that he was very paranoid and delusional.  She secured the pistols in the house and we made a couple of phone calls to get him some help on the way.

With hindsight being 20/20, I would have done several things differently that night.  I violated virtually every basic officer safety rule - I didn't notify my telecommunicator of my location; I wasn't wearing my body armor; and I found myself in an open yard without any type of cover, facing a man holding two pistols who was concerned about imaginary deer hunters, and who tried (unsuccessfully) to convince me that he wasn't crazy.

But, I was glad I answered the call.  If I accomplished nothing else, I convinced that little girl that she could count on wildlife officers to come to her aid when she called.

Deconstructing to Rebuild

I spent this past weekend working on my dog kennels.  Ten years ago, I built a 10 ft. x 10 ft. platform of pressure treated wood on which to set the panels.  A couple of years later, I built a second one.  I received some construction guidance from a coworker who recommended arranging the floor joists so that the platforms could be sawed in half and reconnected if I ever wanted to move them.  A couple of weeks ago, I did just that.  I sawed the platforms in half and hauled them up the mountain.

Kennel site - staked out

Last week I began the reconstruction.  I laid out the footprint and made sure everything was square.  I horsed the now 5x10 panels into place and leveled them with blocks.  Then I crawled underneath and bolted the sections back together (as my coworker described).  It worked perfectly giving me a refurbished 10 ft. x 20 ft. platform.

Kennel decking - stained

This past Sunday, I heard a missionary, Joel Lillie of Extend International, speak about his family’s work with international students at Purdue University.  Many of these are graduate or Ph.D level students who come from a variety of religious or nonreligious backgrounds.  His work is heavy on relationship building.  They not only have Bible study, but they help the students refine their English and western cultural skills.  It is a true holistic ministry.

During his presentation Joel spoke a truly fascinating phrase.  He said that before you can construct something new, most often you have to deconstruct a previous structure before building something new.  That sounds very simple.  My first vision of that statement was of a building imploding and crashing into a pile of rubble.  Then the bulldozers push away the debris and a new building is built.  A fast and efficient method of change.

Appalachian State University - Winkler dorm implosion - 2014
www.wataugaroads.com

But what he described was not removing elements of the student's culture and then seeking to make them American.  After all, most of them will return to their homes after they finish their studies.  Instead, he uses their culture as a springboard to introduce new ideas that may contrast with or compliment their customs, traditions or mores.  The apostle Paul used this same approach when he spoke to the crowd in Athens.  This creates an environment that is ripe for growth and change.

As leaders responsible for initiating and implementing organizational change, we are sometimes tempted to take the “implosion, clear the site, and start fresh with a new structure” approach.  That methodology will definitely work – to a degree.  This approach eliminates the entanglements of all the historical culture that sometimes slows us down.  But within an organization (or our personal lives), it is rare that everything has to be discarded and we have start over with something completely new - history matters.  By deconstructing piece by piece we can examine each part and it's role in the whole structure, and then evaluate whether this part will add value to the reconstruction.

Joel gave examples of this approach working for evangelism and relationship building with college students.  I have seen it work firsthand in an agency organizational review and restructuring initiative.  Heck, it even works when building a dog kennel.

Who is Tending the (Deer) Farm?

I grew up in Cleveland County (North Carolina) near the South Carolina line at the western edge of the Piedmont region.  When I was a kid, this was a rural, farming community.  I spent most of my free time romping through the woods and fishing in farm ponds within walking distance of home.  There were a variety of small game animals in the area, and I boxed trapped rabbits and the occasional possum.  There were no deer in my childhood community.  In fact, I was late into my teenage years before I saw my first live, wild deer.

When I signed on as a wildlife officer in 1985 my first duty station was in Graham County.  Again, I found myself in an area with a small deer population.  In my 4 ½ in that county I can count on my fingers and toes the number of deer I saw while out working.

That all changed when I moved to Rutherford County.  There were plenty of deer and plenty of deer hunters, both legal and illegal.  Over the rest of my career I spent countless nights working to catch spotlighters, and many cold winter days chasing road hunters.  Over the course of my 29 years as an officer, I saw the transition from viewing the harvest of does move from taboo to something that is encouraged to maintain a healthy herd. 

But, it wasn't all work.  I managed to kill a few deer in between work activities and enjoyed all the steps from field to table.  Some of my fondest memories are of sitting on a deer stand with my kids.

I lay that foundation to acknowledge that I have a bit of a bias when it comes to deer.  And, I realize deer can generate headaches - I have experienced firsthand the frustration of deer depredation.  But, just this morning I saw seven deer cross my drive and even after all these years, I stopped to look at them.

Commissioner Steve Troxler

The news that a bill (Section 14.26a beginning on page 145) has been introduced to move the oversight of captive deer to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Customer Services (DACS) struck a nerve.  After all in a 2010 press release, DACS Commissioner Steve Troxler declared, “Bambi is a pest.”  I’m not sure that this is the department we want to entrust with the stewardship of our deer.

On the surface there are valid arguments for making this move.  The captive deer program is a “farming” type operation.  The deer are bred and managed much the same way livestock are managed, and for an equally diverse variety of reasons.  Some breeders simply like having a few deer in their backyard.  Others breed for large, antlered bucks to sell to other breeders; to have trophy animals valued by high fence hunting operations like this one on the Qualla Boundary in western North Carolina; or to sell semen to other breeders.  Those practices mirror traditional livestock farming (except that cattle aren’t raised to be hunted inside a fence).  But while there are similarities, there are legitimate concerns about managing wild animals as though they are livestock.

The most obvious concern is disease transmission.  Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) first showed up in Pennsylvania and Missouri in captive deer facilities, and the first discovery of CWD in the wild herd in Wisconsin was suspected to be linked to a game farm in the area.  Livestock can be vaccinated and/or tested for the most common diseases that affect those animals.  And if there is a disease outbreak the flock or herd can be quarantined, treated (or destroyed) and the contaminated area cleaned.  The DACS has a great record of successfully managing these types of issues.  But, there is no live test for CWD (brain or spinal tissue must be tested) and there is an 18-24 month incubation period (some studies suggest a longer period) after an animal has been exposed to CWD.  The prions linked to CWD can remained active in the soil for years. 

CWD positive deer - dnrec.delaware.gov

 Finally, two sentences in the proposed bill are especially troubling.

“The Commissioner may take emergency action pursuant to the provisions in this Article if needed to protect the cervid industry in North Carolina or wild cervid populations. Such action shall remain in force until rescinded by the Commissioner.” [Emphasis added]

So, the Commissioner of DACS, who has publicly expressed, “Bambi is a pest” would have the authority to take emergency actions that will affect the wild deer population if this bill is passed.  If asked to choose between a handful of (influential) captive deer farmers or thousands of free ranging “pests,” what type of emergency actions will be taken?  It is a scary thought.

The North Carolina Wildlife Federation has issued an alert and encourages concerned citizens to contact their legislators expressing their concern about this proposal.  You can view and participate in this alert here.

What happens next will depend on what the people say.  Or  maybe what we don’t say.

Moral Mondays: Who is the Dancing Guy?

It has been fascinating to watch the Moral Monday protests over the past two years.  These began after the North Carolina General Assembly came under the control of a Republican majority and a Republican was elected as governor.  As social programs fell into the sights of the General Assembly in 2013, the protests began to gather steam.  Over 900 individuals were arrested over a three month period, primarily for trespassing in the legislative building.  The protesters have returned for the 2014 short session.  A small number of individuals have been arrested this year.

In my opinion, the protests last year never really picked up much momentum.  I’m sure that organizers would disagree with that assessment, pointing to thousands attending the rallies.  I would prefer to measure momentum by results than the number of protesters.

Recent news reports question whether the protests are simply tools being used by the Democrats to keep their messages in front of the people.  Moral Monday organizer and North Carolina NAACP president, Rev. William Barber is quoted as saying, "Our movement is bigger than any party.  We are concerned about the soul of this state."

But, is it making an impact on the soul of North Carolina?

Last summer I attended one of the Monday evening protests.  I wanted to experience firsthand what was taking place.  It was a cordial crowd with racial, gender and age diversity.  They listened intently to the speakers.  They cheered and sang protest songs from the 1960s.  But, from my perspective they were not unified. 

The speakers spoke on a multitude of topics from health care, voters’ rights, public education, workers’ rights, and environmental issues.  While most cheered the speakers, it was clear that there were several subgroups with specific agendas.  The whole thing struck me as somewhat disjointed.

That’s not to say that I disagreed with many of the speakers.  In fact, I agreed with much of what was said.  Who isn’t concerned about the environment, public education and health care?  But, the evening lacked the feel of a true movement.

 NC NAACP President  Rev. William Barber

I love this YouTube video, Leadership Lessons from the Dancing Guy.  While it may be overly simplistic, these are valid points concerning what starts a movement.  The question I have concerning the Moral Monday protests is, “Who is the Dancing Guy?”  Last summer, I saw several people around Raleigh wearing their, “I went to jail with Rev. Barber” buttons, so there were/are some who are following him - is he the Dancing Guy?  Is there someone with the state Democratic Party who is assuming this role?  The party’s leadership seems to be in disarray for the past couple of years, so I doubt anyone there is leading the dance.

As the video clip points out, it is the first followers that will draw other followers.  I overheard a middle-aged white woman telling her daughter last summer, “I’m going to be arrested tonight – isn’t that cool?”  She had nothing to lose by being arrested and felt she was gaining status as a protester by wearing her, "I'm gonna be arrested" armband.  Plus, she gets a button to wear to the supermarket that tells the world that she is an “activist.”  Most North Carolinians won't follow her.

I would posit that it is the protest itself that is the Dancing Guy.  The problem is the right song has yet to be played.  While listening to the speakers last summer, I couldn’t rush down to dance because of the dissonance of the music.  But, I saw the potential for a tremendous energy that awaited the right song.

But, I don’t think the song that will rally the masses is at either extreme of the left or right.  A strong centrist's message will pull people down the hill, from across the state, and may truly start a movement that impacts state government. 

The Zen-less Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: Faith Revealed

Several weeks back I ran into an old acquaintance that used to work on my motorcycle.  Like so many people these days he works multiple jobs.  But to my dismay, he no longer works on motorcycles.

As we caught up, I told him that my bike hadn’t been cranked in almost three years.  He gave me a look that made me feel like I had let him down.  But, he gave me a few technical tips to get it started.  I questioned whether it would be that easy and he responded enthusiastically, “Man, you have to have faith.”

Now, I know it takes more than faith to get an 36 year-old scooter cranked after it has set up for several years.  But, I also knew that there are a multitude of folks who have successfully dealt with the same issue.  Ed made it sound so easy that even someone with minimal mechanical talent (like me) could get it running.  His faith was definitely stronger than mine.

So I broke down last week and dropped a hundred bucks for a battery (whatever happened to the $39 ones?).  I pulled the sparkplugs and cleaned them before taking the cover off the carburetor.  I run an S&S Super E which many, including myself, consider to be one of the best motorcycle carbs.  It is simple (in carburetor terms) and requires little maintenance.  I hit it with a shot of starting spray and it fired right up, only to die quickly.  Pretty simple diagnosis – no fuel to the carburetor.

To be on the safe side, I watched a YouTube video on how to drop the float bowl (four screws) to make sure no springs or pins would fly out.  It came off pretty easily and I cleaned it thoroughly with a can of carburetor spray.  It went back in place without a hitch.  Since the gas was old, I drained the tanks and added new gas.

To my surprise, the engine fired up the first time I hit the starter button.   I rode it out the drive and it actually ran well.  The only issue was very poor braking.  I suppose that is another repair for another day.

The term faith is one we throw around with a variety of usages, sometimes rather loosely.  Faith is a strong word with even stronger implications.  When Ed told me, “You have to have faith” he charged me with a powerful challenge.  In the Bible, the writer of Hebrews defined faith as, “…the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 1).  That chapter goes on to describe a number of saints who exhibited great faith.  But, while they exhibited faith, it wasn’t always easy or perfect.

In the secular world, we have the same struggles.  It is difficult to have "the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things" not seen with our boss.  Is she really looking out for my best interests?  And what about politicians?  Can we place our faith in them?

Faith is foundational for Christians.  If we hold to the truth that God is sovereign, we have to accept, by faith, that those in positions of authority are there by God’s will (Romans 13:1, Ephesians 6:5, Colossians 3:22).  Faith helps us counter the anxieties of daily life (Matthew 6:25-34).

It is easier to have faith when we hear of instances where the "things hoped for" actually took place.  Ed told me what to do to get my motorcycle running, a video showed me how to do the repair, and I took actions steps to make it happen.  Now the scooter thumps like an old Harley should.  Faith revealed…

1977 Harley Davidson FLH