Cow Damage Reward now at $1900.00

[Ken Hill]

A reminder to dive safely on this long holiday weekend!

The defacement of numerous cave systems is being actively investigated and there have been many contacts to the CDS both formally and informally. On this long diving weekend I would like to remind the cave divers that are personally incensed at the damage that progess will come swiftly in the event a few of the remaining dots are connected. If there is any honor in the person(s) who did this they might consider a PM to turn themselves in.

The public reward amounts as posted to several forums total $6,800.00. There is also private donation already made to the CDS which will augment this amount. The breakdown is as follows.


DIC Reward
Donor Amount Pledged Forum Date
Total $6,850.00

CDS 1,000.00 CDS 11/10/07
Ken Hill 100.00 CDF 11/10/07
Johnny Richards 100.00 CDF 11/10/07
Jim Wyatt 100.00 CDF 11/10/07
John Jones 100.00 CDF 11/10/07
Angie Reim 50.00 CDF 11/10/07
aainslie 5,000.00 CDF 11/11/07 *
Fixxeri6 100.00 Deco Stop 11/9/07
sasdasdaf 100.00 Deco Stop 11/9/07
Bobby 100.00 Deco Stop 11/9/07
WB416 100.00 Deco Stop 11/9/07
Cave Ranger 100.00 CDF 11/21/07

* To be paid to the CDS if other reward monies lead to arrest

[OFG-1]

DAMN! OK, my mother did it. How can I collect?

[JDostal]

I am very happy to see this happen.

Best of luck in determining who committed the vandalism.

[Cave Ranger]

A reminder to dive safely on this long holiday weekend!

The defacement of numerous cave systems is being actively investigated and there have been many contacts to the CDS both formally and informally. On this long diving weekend I would like to remind the cave divers that are personally incensed at the damage that progess will come swiftly in the event a few of the remaining dots are connected. If there is any honor in the person(s) who did this they might consider a PM to turn themselves in.

The public reward amounts as posted to several forums total $6,800.00. There is also private donation already made to the CDS which will augment this amount. The breakdown is as follows.


DIC Reward
Donor Amount Pledged Forum Date
Total $6,850.00

CDS 1,000.00 CDS 11/10/07
Ken Hill 100.00 CDF 11/10/07
Johnny Richards 100.00 CDF 11/10/07
Jim Wyatt 100.00 CDF 11/10/07
John Jones 100.00 CDF 11/10/07
Angie Reim 50.00 CDF 11/10/07
aainslie 5,000.00 CDF 11/11/07
Fixxeri6 100.00 Deco Stop 11/9/07
sasdasdaf 100.00 Deco Stop 11/9/07
Bobby 100.00 Deco Stop 11/9/07
WB416 100.00 Deco Stop 11/9/07

Dang!! Some of you guys must be made of money but it's a great thing you are doing.
Ken please allow me to add another $100.00 to this reward fund. After all it is almost Christmas and I really hope we catch this cave vandalizing jackass! Maybe he will resist arrest and we'll get to activate his dental plan as a bonus. I know, I know......anger management

Question....If the reward remains uncollected though what is going to happen to the money? A donation to the NSS-CDS or other non-profit? How about a toy drive or maybe a donation to OFG-1's Nutra System program, complete with a Cheetah print leotard sweat suit?
Just wondering the what if's.

Either way, P.M. me and let me know what I need to do to donate.

Sincerely, Merle Stokes

[aainslie]

Ken, PLEASE read my post carefully:

http://cavediver.net/phpbb2/viewtopi...t=6859&start=0

For any potential snitch with similar problems interpreting the English language you will NOT receive $5000 from me. CDS will.

Good god.

For the rest of you sending me thanks notes etc, this reward is a bad idea. It is unlikely to bear results. Sorry, but there it is.

If however the reward (once my S5000 is subtracted) is indeed paid out to someone I will happily eat my words and donate CDS $5000.

My earlier point, somehow lost in the translation, is that if people rest on their laurels at this point thinking that anything has been achieved by setting this reward up, they will have done the community a disservice. This reward has us feeling good about ourselves but is unlikely to bear fruit. We need to keep considering alternatives.

Ken, please post a retraction of this incorrect statement. And please read my posts more carefully in future.

[Ken Hill]

Andrew.

I am a bit confused but I will address the accounting with the understanding you will donate to the CDS $5000 if the other monies accumulated or pledged by others leads to catching the culprit. I base this on your statement "if in fact this reward led to catching the culprit." you will give the CDS $5000. You also wrote "My money will NOT be paid to the person turning in the culprit. It will be paid to the CDS." In the event the reward works and the CDS elects to give your $5000 to the person or persons responsible for providing the information leading to an arrest and conviction do you have a problem with that?

I based my post on what I read online and written by you and others and what people in the cave community came to understand and promulgated to others. You said in your Sun Nov 11, 2007 1:47 pm Post. subject: Re: reward the following :

"To make my belief concrete - I will donate $5000 to the CDS if that reward works in catching a vandal. And I will be the happiest person in town making that payment. I'm serious - I will stand by this commitment."

Until I hear otherwise from the CDS that should they receive your pledge I and others are making the assumption that amount will be given to the party that helps catch who did this.

Thank you for your generosity and clarification of your intent.

/Ken

[aainslie]

Ken,

See my post on TDS. How could you completely ignore the tenet of my discussion up to that point? Why would I, at end of several posts pointing out that I thought this reward was a bad idea, exacerbate the problem?

Anyway, bottom line, I will donate the money in a way that prevents it from being used for a reward. If you have a problem with that, then the CDS will simply not receive the donation.

Since this whole thing is conditioned on an event with a trival probability of occurrence, this entire discussion is pretty speculative anyway.

[Kelly Jessop]

Since this whole thing is conditioned on an event with a trival probability of occurrence, .

There was a Mercedes dealership that sponsored a hole in a golf tournament,if you get a hole in one,you get a 45K car,but they didn't bother to buy the insurance policy. I like trivial probability

[Ken Hill]

Andrew,
As said, your offer is a generous one. Should the offender be caught, your pledge to the CDS is on record.

The talk of the reward is working. Forum's such as this in other parts of the world are posting the facts of the incident and the reward for information. That's the purpose of offering a reward, incentive to get at the truth. I cannot stress how fortunate we are that the news of the offense and reward is spreading beyond cave divers and cave country here in Florida.

Now it's a matter of time. It's unlikely that DIC dove solo at Cow, Peacock and Ginnie. DIC did other things not published. When someone claiming the rewards gives his or her narrative we'll know if it is factual.

Thanks again for your generosity. /Ken

[RN]

When I first read about the reward, I didn't respond because I thought the same things as Andrew. Offering a reward is great and makes people feel good, but will it really do anything to help find out who did this? I didn't think so, and I still am not so sure. I think it's very possible that whoever did this was diving solo, even at Peacock. Solo diving isn't allowed at Peacock, but if someone is going to deface the cave, then why wouldn't they break other rules.

I'm still on the fence on whether to donate money for the reward. If the actions being taken do bring about an identity, what will be done? Will it be a simple slap on the wrist? Or will the name of this person be published and sent out to everyone who controls access to sites such as Peacock, Ginnie, JB, Cow, etc, and to all the air fill stations within a couple hundred miles of the caves? And will these people be diligent in checking IDs and refusing access and fills? If it's the latter, then I will gladly donate. However, if this person is still allowed access/air, then what's the point.

I know we can't control the diligence of people checking IDs, but I'd at least like to know that this person will be blacklisted in the community.