norma johnson conservation center

Trying to do the Right Thing

     First off I would like to mention that I have started carving again and will offer up some photos of work I have done, or will be doing as part of my volunteer work as part of my requirement for sentencing consideration prior to my trial for possession of marijuana. Yes folks I am a pot head and was busted but have pleaded not guilty but will probably be railroaded due to lack of an attorney which according to my income was not provided in this instance. Also the trial will be a bench trial, as they don’t have jury trials for possession anymore. So much for constitutional rights as I believe a trial in front of my peers would show I was not guilty according to all standards as I was targeted without probable cause by law enforcement authorities running a sting operation.

    None the less I will do what I can to preserve my innocence but on the misfortune of being found guilty I intend to have a plan B in action to prevent the serious side of the restrictions placed on me from coming into effect.  I have found a place I can volunteer and do what I do best to help the community and was offered a deal by the prosecutor in the event I am found guilty and that involves 24 hrs. of community service and a clean drug screen.  The place is the Norma Johnson Conservation Center on St. Rt. 39, outside of Dover, Ohio. I originally wanted to go back to where the originally ticketed me and offered to clean up the area and bag trash, including among other things baggies, underwear, soft drink cans and bottles scattered everywhere, and they being Division of Wildlife said that they could not credit me anytime for the work I would do, but I was welcome to go ahead and do it otherwise. Unfortunately I cannot do that, and I am under a time constraint to achieve my credited volunteer hours so I had to find other work I felt would justify my time and utilize my talents. Too bad for the Dundee Falls area, as the area in its condition would only lend itself to more vandalism and degradation of resources.

     I met with one of the administrators and will begin carving for them a series of different carvings I will share with you over the coming days and I will also offer up more information as to their park and what it has to offer, to inform the public more. I took a hike yesterday and explored some and listened to what they wanted as far as how I could help them improve the visitor’s park experience and we settled on some initial projects and will go from there. I will be carving alone but supervised by the maintenance man to assure my complete time is fulfilled and I will not sacrifice quality as I am looking forward to doing the best I can.  Also outside the blog photos and the people that follow me I have no intentions of signing the work or profiting anyway from what I have done. Instead I am just using this one instance to make others more aware of the park and its generosity and facilities in helping me to overcome a problem. Here is a link to their official site: Norma Johnson Conservation Center

    It is a hidden treasure in its infancy and through the years will hopefully evolve into an asset for the county and stand as a tribute to the principles of conservation. What little I contribute will be minor and hopefully I will contribute more than what is prescribed by me as I won’t leave any project unfinished due to having my time fulfilled. I also would like to contribute beyond this one time as I believe in volunteering and giving back to society in things you believe in.

    Before years ago I received from the same agency that ran this facility a commendation in the form of an award for outstanding volunteer work that I had performed for them years ago. also when carving before at a loggers festival they approached me and asked if I would be willing to volunteer for them then and that is what led me to seek them out and see if we could not find some common ground to allow me to work out my volunteer hours with them. I have had a really good success working with them before and learned quite a bit and they offered me plenty of opportunities to explore new avenues of conservation that was not open to many at the time. It had an impact on my thinking and still does when it comes to conservation of resources.

      Anyhow I will attempt to inform all of you as I learn more about the resources and history of the facility as I go along. Maybe it may become an area that you the reader may want to visit in the future and utilize especially in the fall at times like this when leaves are in their peak and walking in nature is quite enjoyable and healthy.