Appalachian Gathering 2012: July 2011

Where in the Appalachian Bioregion are we going?

Where in the Appalachian Bioregion are we going? The consensus was for the White Mountain National Forest (in the Northeast), or the Appalachian states of Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia. Spring Council selected a site in North Eastern Tennessee.

If you're not familiar with the gauntlet on the road into the gathering, and want to avoid a mandatory court appearance ticket click here.

For the Howdy Folks and directions to the gathering, click here. For the United States Forest Service Incident Command website with groovy maps and updates, click here.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

On Finding a Site in 2012

The consensus for 2012 covers a lot of territory and it's going to take a lot of effort by a large number of people to find the best site we can find. People have already started map scouting and sharing knowledge with each other about how to find sites on a map.

There's a good thread going here on the basics of map scouting with good comments. There's also some really good discussions on various techniques going on here. (Unfortunately you have to be part of the evil empire (aka FaceBook) to access it ).

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Sort of an Appalachian Gathering in 2012

Consensus for the 2012 annual gathering was reached with 10 seconds of silence on July 16 at 3:55 pm, pdt. We the people on the land at the 2011 annual gathering vision council of the rainbow family of living light, have reached a consensus to hold the 2012 annual peaceable assembly and free speech gathering in the White Mountain National Forest (in the N.E.), or the Appalachian states of Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia.

This doesn't include all the Appalachian states but does include many of them hence the name of this year's blog. Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.

Appalachian Mountains

Getting into the gathering without getting a mandatory court appearance ticket

Getting into the gathering without getting a mandatory court appearance ticket
Every year the United States Forest Service Law Enforcement (USFS) Incident Management Team (the cops) attempts to write as many tickets to family coming home as they possibly can to justify their presence. They give out tickets for broken tail lights, failure to use a turn signal in a deserted parking lot at 2 AM, lack of seat belts, controlled substances (even just a trace amount), beads hanging from your rear view mirrors, prescription medications if the label doesn't clearly have your name on it and you can't prove who you are, dogs off leash, a vehicle missing a front license plate even if you live in a state that does not issue a front license plate and a lot more violations of the letter of the law.

However, these tickets are not the type of citation you would probably receive for any of these issues in your hometown. These are mandatory court appearance tickets. There will be special court dates set up just for us, so we can go to the local courthouse, fire station or visitors center and go before a magistrate. In the past, charges have been reduced, fines were often minimal and the court has allowed people to make payment plans ranging from 90 days to pay $75 to 18 months to pay $25 depending on the hardship cases people have expressed.

If you do not show up for your mandatory court appearance on the date indicated on your ticket, a Federal Bench Warrant will be issued for your arrest. Then the USFS LEOs will come into the gathering looking for you. If they find you they will arrest you and put you in jail until the next court date. If this happens on a Friday afternoon, you will be in jail until Monday. If they do not find you at the gathering, the next time a law enforcement officer for any reason stops you, your ID will be run through the database and you will go directly to jail.

Of course, everyone is free to manage this situation as they wish but I strongly recommend you go to your court date. I have seen people charged with crimes that could potentially result in a six years sentence walk out with a $500 fine and three years’ probation. Keep in mind that every year the dynamic is different and these results may not always be available. There are lawyers at the gathering (I am not a legal expert) who attend the court dates and will assist as best they can although I recommend you catch up with them before your court date to gain a better understanding of your specific charges and strategies to get the charges dropped or reduced. If you do not know these people personally, go to INFO and let them know you received one of the magic tickets and you need legal assistance.