FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Car breakins at the weir dam

[James Brooks <comeback@xxxxxxxx>]

Columnist Gregg Powers wrote last weekend on the Outdoors page of the Johnson 
City Press of a rash of breakins in the area of the weir dam on the Holston. 
These included windows smashed and the taking of thousands of dollars in fly 
fishing equipment. 
The pattern seems to be out of state cars, because someone traveling to fish is 
more likely to bring everything along. Although most have been reported to TVA 
police and the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office, none of this equipment was 
recovered. 
We are all prone to having our equipment lifted, and that includes expensive 
birding equipment. This winter someone took my Leice 8x42 binoculars from my 
car while it was being serviced in Jonesborough. They were inside the console 
between the seats and out of sight, while a scope on a tripod in the back seat 
was ignored. 
They were my constant companion for over a decade and I've been so heartsick 
I've just lost all enthusiasm for going out birding in the field since it 
happened. 
If such a thing can happen in Jonesborough it can happen almost anywhere in the 
field. Follow Gregg's advice and lock your car and set the alarm if you have 
one. Keep an eye out for suspicious activity, particularly in the weir dam 
area, and carry your cell phone so you can report a breakin, especially if it 
is in progress. Don't try to make an arrest yourself, but use your binoculars 
to get the best description you can, especially clothing worn by perps and the 
make, model and car license number if possible. 
A number of years ago there was an active Indian artifacts dig going on at 
Austin Springs each winter during the drawdown, in violation of the 
Archaeological Resources Protection Act. I used my birding telephoto to snap a 
roll of film of the perps, including their license plate and sent the prints to 
Quentin Bass, Cherokee Forest archaeologist. He passed them on to TVA officials 
so the crackdown came from the top of the chain of command and the digging 
stopped. They never knew how the evidence against them was gathered. 
James Brooks
Bear Run
Washington County
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