DSO Forums Nelson Ledges Quarry Park Bust

[Cully]

This was posted at www.philone.org from the DSO board. This really blows, glad I hit up Grateful Fest last year as it may be very different this go around.

..ok folks

this is NOT PRETTY

DEA, sherrif and drug dogs raided NLQP on thursday

all of grab bag bill's wares were confiscated and bill's associate was arrested by state police and drug agents.

then they proceeded to go through the park and arrest people for smoking pot and various other drug related charges.

Evan has passed out AT LEAST 10 wristbands to undercover state police and drug agents. apparently this is all going down because some fuckhead was selling drugs that kill you there and someone bought it , went home and OD'd died

this was/is the straw that broke the ledges back. the local authorities have been waiting for this to happen.

there will be a CONSTANT police presence in NLQP from now on...THE PARTY IS OVER, FOLKS!!

if you do decide to go to NLQP this year for any of the events...WATCH YOUR ASS!

personally, i love the place to death...but, will NOT be going there if i'm going to be jailed for just smoking some weed....sorry

my heart is broken

peace

kevin

[Schwa.]

wha?

[Booche]

“Today, I was having sex with a girl I had just met. After about 5 minutes in, she said she had to go to the bathroom. So we stopped and she went to the bathroom. After waiting around 10 min, I decided to check if she was ok. The window was open. She was gone.†FML

[Schwa.]

It's actually legit:

Several arrested for drugs at Nelson park

Email To A Friend

Printer Friendly

Comments

Add to Reddit Add to Digg Add to del.icio.us

about 12 hours ago

By Diane Smith

Record-Courier staff writer

NELSON — Several people arrested in this weekend’s drug sting at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park remained in jail Monday as authorities combed through the evidence.

Officers from the Portage County Drug Task Force arrested eight people and charged them with multiple drug-related felonies following three days of targeted enforcement at the park at 12001 S.R. 282.

Portage County Sheriff David Doak said about $4,600 in cash was seized along with a large box-type moving van full of drug paraphernalia.

On Monday, the boxes of items removed from the van were laid out at the Portage County Sheriff’s Office.

The Portage County Drug Task Force started the sting Thursday after seizing boxes of drugs in the van. Inside the park this weekend, undercover agents purchased ecstasy, oxycodone, marijuana and psilocybin, a hallucinogenic found in different species of mushrooms.

Edward Kleppinger, 49, of Toledo, owned the van and was facing a charge of trafficking in drugs, a fifth-degree felony. Kleppinger was freed after posting 10 percent of a $25,000 bond.

Others arrested were:

• David L. George, 21, of Nelsonville, facing a charge of trafficking in drugs, a fifth-degree felony, and aggravated possession of drugs, a third-degree felony. George was freed after posting 10 percent of a $60,000 bond.

• Michael S. Williams, 21, of Moon Twp., Pa., facing one charge of aggravated drug trafficking, a fourth-degree felony, and two counts of aggravated possession of drugs, both fifth-degree felonies. Williams was freed after posting 10 percent of a $50,000 bond.

• Shawn M. Smith, 29, of Zelienopole, Pa., facing two counts of drug trafficking, fourth-degree felonies.

• Michael Gaskalla, 22, of Port Clinton, facing two counts of aggravated possession of drugs, both fifth-degree felonies.

• Benjamin L. Watson, 30, of Ashland, facing two counts of trafficking in drugs, one a fourth-degree felony and the other a fifth-degree felony and possession of drugs, a fourth-degree felony.

• Michael S. Watson, 36, of Ashland, facing two counts of trafficking in drugs, one a fourth-degree felony and the other a fifth-degree felony, and one charge of possession of drugs, a fifth-degree felony.

• Brian E. Noel, 36, of Wheeling W.Va., facing two counts of trafficking in drugs, fifth-degree felonies. Noel is free after posting 10 percent of a $25,000 bond.

Smith, Gaskalla, Noel and the Watsons remained in jail, with no bond set.

This year’s Blossom Blast Spring Hookah event was the 10th annual, according to the park’s Web site. The weekend featured Ekoostik Hookah and several other bands.

Doak said authorities had not yet had a chance to calculate the street value of drugs seized during the raid. Included in the paraphernalia were several bongs, some of which carried price tags of $200 or more, and several cartons of cigarettes of unknown origin.

He noted that this tally included only the items from one vendor at the park.

“We’re going to be keeping an eye on that place for quite a while,†he said.

[backbacon]

That's such bad news.

[zero]

FAWK no more Hookah!

On another note what was the story about the DEA activity at Hampton? I thought I heard that the band was somehow involved in bringing in such a large presence.

[Kanada Kev]

Bummer. I saw Evan in Buffalo the day after the Dead show. I can't wait to hit up the Ledges again.

It will not stop me from going. Evan runs the place for people to have fun, but within limits. If you read about the history of the park you'll know that it has a very sketchy past. He turned it around and doesn't want it to go back to what it was. I watched Evan deal with a tour rat last year with her dog. There are NO dogs allowed and he came down hard on her and rightfully so. Evan doesn't want any shit being sold on his property that is going to cause somebody to OD. I'm sure that he was fully compliant (possibly even contacted the authorities himself) with the law enforcement.

There are at least 3 or 4 other concert weekends at the park before Gratefulfest. It'll be interesting to see how it goes.

[TheAlphaNerd]

Sigh... the parties over!

[Schwa.]

Bummer. I saw Evan in Buffalo the day after the Dead show. I can't wait to hit up the Ledges again.

It will not stop me from going. Evan runs the place for people to have fun, but within limits. If you read about the history of the park you'll know that it has a very sketchy past. He turned it around and doesn't want it to go back to what it was. I watched Evan deal with a tour rat last year with her dog. There are NO dogs allowed and he came down hard on her and rightfully so. Evan doesn't want any shit being sold on his property that is going to cause somebody to OD. I'm sure that he was fully compliant (possibly even contacted the authorities himself) with the law enforcement.

There are at least 3 or 4 other concert weekends at the park before Gratefulfest. It'll be interesting to see how it goes.

The problem here being that none of this is up to Evan anymore.

[Jakis]

Only if hippies didn't need drugs to have fun.

[Kanada Kev]

Take a read of the entire thread. You'll get a better understanding of what/why it went down:

http://www.dsoforums.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=9099&st=0&start=0

Keep the sketch out ...

[Cully]

I know, but now people are going to be paranoid about it happening again. It will probably change the vibe.

[ollie]

Only if hippies didn't need drugs to have fun.

If. Only.

[color:#CCCCCC]Stay in... aw, fuck it.

[Basher]

Based on what people said in the thread above, I would only be paranoid about heading to NLQP if I was planning on selling shitloads of hard drugs.

I don't think that applies to anyone from these parts.

[Patchoulia]

I just think the notion of a clandestine police presence is incredibly disturbing...not that it's unheard of, but, knowing they're there and itching to arrest someone is disconcerting.

[zero]

I'd be disconcerted.

[KarinGarage]

booo-urns!

[The Chameleon]

I just think the notion of a clandestine police presence is incredibly disturbing...not that it's unheard of, but, knowing they're there and itching to arrest someone is disconcerting.

Perhaps so, but if you have ever been to a Grateful Dead show in the 90's it was a fact of life. I'd rather see them and know they are there than not know.

Pretty standard in the good ol' USA.

[Patchoulia]

I just think the notion of a clandestine police presence is incredibly disturbing...not that it's unheard of' date=' but, knowing they're there and itching to arrest someone is disconcerting.[/quote']

Perhaps so, but if you have ever been to a Grateful Dead show in the 90's it was a fact of life. I'd rather see them and know they are there than not know.

Pretty standard in the good ol' USA.

Well, that's my point...it sounds like the guys in the NLQP bust were undercover..so no one knew they were there..yes, I'd rather KNOW...sounds like no one knew...sounds like it was a big undercover sting thing.

[The Chameleon]

I guess when I am in the US I always assume they are somewhere in the crowd at shows.

sucks.

[Schwa.]

The more I remember Langerado, the less this bothers me. I had cops go right in my tent looking for nitrous tanks and that didn't really bother me. some one remind me to tell them about that when you see me next. it was insane.

[MoMack]

The more I remember Langerado, the less this bothers me. I had cops go right in my tent looking for nitrous tanks and that didn't really bother me. some one remind me to tell them about that when you see me next. it was insane.

They must have seen you with your octaganarian girlfriend in Buffalo....

[Schwa.]

Stop trying to impress us with all your fancy words and book learnin'.

[mark tonin]

After reading through the Guestbook on the Nelson Ledge's web site, this news doesn't really bother me. My sense is that they are being reasonable in trying to keep the sketch-factor as low as possible, which is fine by me.

Peace, Mark

[Kanada Kev]

The guestbook is a great place to go to get more info on this. Jumping all over it based on one person's email, and one press story (we all know how well they do at covering our scene) shouldn't cause you to abandon Gratefulfest. Eight people arrested out of 3000? Come on ... that ratio isn't out of whack. What were they arrested for? Trafficking ... yes, selling. Hmmm, great happy festival for all ages and people are upset about 8 people getting nabbed for trafficking? The Gratefulfest scene doesn't need to get ruined by the scketchy scene. If this is any deterrent then I'm OK with it.

Here's what Evan (who owns the venue/park) posted the other day:

Here is what Evan posted ...

Thanks everyone for a ggggreat opening to the season. The last two weekends were incredible to say the least. You folks are the best and make this place what it is. Your energy is what drives this place.

Thanks for all the support over the years.

Here's the scoop with the police.

They simply wanted to come check us out, like they do every few years. They patrolled the roads outside and pulled over random cars (know your rights). They had a handful of undercovers in here like thay do at every festival in the country! This time we actually new they were there for sure. I would rather know then not.

Out of 3000 people, there were only 8 arrests. That is NOT a "drug sweep" or major operation. They were simply looking for hard drugs. They let me know that they were going to be cool with most folks, and they were. Now that they have made their point, I dont see them as being a problem here. They got lots of smiles and waves and got to see what great folks you all are. They got to see the many children, safe and having a wonderful time. They interviewed folks (vendors and mom&dads) and asked if they feel safe and stuff. Everyone gave rave reviews from what I hear.

We all do a great job here. Especially you good folks. You love this place like your second home, which it is.

The police will lay off some, Im sure. While they were throwing the football with the Quarry folks on Saturday afternoon, they ended up getting rocks thrown at them Saturday night by the students at Kent State!

These were the best Earlybird and Blossom Blast we have ever had. I can't tell you how much I love you all, even though I try every show. The weather was just beautiful. You all are just beautiful. Every year seems to get better. Because we all grow closer.

Love you family.

And here's what another individual who attends most all of the events there said too;

I guess it comes down to was this a one time deal or will there be a continued presence? i don't believe it's the later.

Look i was there. it wasn't that bad as it's being led to believe, people are acting like this is the first drug bust at any music festival ever.

another thing, watch what you read on the internet, especially from message boards. I can tell you that i know for a fact that there is a particular person, who ran a festival here in Ohio last year, that is doing everything he can to take Evan and NLQP down. He'll lie, distort the facts and scam you to believe what he is saying is true He's already posted this thread on several boards to continue his weak ass attack (which is funny because he also slams DSO every attempt he gets, so why he is here reading this stuff is funny). Just a warning or something to think about.

Here are his pics from last weekend. Weird seeing the ledges with no leaves on the trees!!