Tellico Tea Party

[tellico_rocks]

Alright everyone. We all know the low down on the closing of Tellico. Well its time to make a stand. We are trying to form a mass gathering of all who want to protest the closing of our local trails. Tellico means so much to us in many ways and its time for us to show that.
Here's what we are shooting for. Everyone meeting in town at a designated area on June 20-21st 2009. We are thinking the old Goody's parking lot next to the Ingles super market. Maybe around 8am or 9am. Then from there we will drive through the town of Murphy and all the way to Tellico. We will ride through trail 1 to the Tenn side so that even the people trout fishing will see us. From there we are still trying to come up with ideas. Crawfords Camp this is where you come in. Give us some idea from there.
This is going to take the efforts of everyone out there who cares about our trail systems and what they mean to us. Spread the word. We need a lot of people. We are thinking twice the size of the Dixie Run. Everyone bring their Jeeps, buggies, trucks, atv's, or whatever it is you four wheel in, bring it. WHO CARES IF IT'S STREET LEGAL! It's a chance we have to take.

LETS TAKE A STAND! TELLICO TEA PARTY!!! June 20-21st

[chevym3]

o yeah i like this idea im going to try to be there and im going to invite all of my buddy's

[Crawfords Campground]

We need to get some media coverage on this folks from the national level. Our rights as citizens are under attack by the left wing extremist and with people already being fed up with the government, this is a good time to get the issue covered. As we can see from the bias government report, we have proof the we are being excluded The last time I spoke to Ryan Fitzpatrick (Con. Shuler's Go For) I made mention as to how many veterans that come to Tellico OHV, some disabled and some not. He told me not to bring the Vet's into the issue as they are not as concerned with Tellico as I was putting it. I quickly brought to his attention the Army Strong Commercial where the Dad and Army daughter were spending quality time in a tubed out Jeep in the woods. I asked him why the US Government would use such a commercial if they did not know the demographic they were targeting. I also told him there was a Veterans Day Rally being planned. I was quickly dismissed and told that Con. Shuler stood behind whatever decision the FS made. These politicians need to be dragged into the light and forced to make a decision, it is not acceptible to sit on the fence. Wait until a decision is made and then side with the group that has won. This also goes for our local politicians here in Cherokee County and Murphy. They act the same way!
Whatever is needed to get a group protest under way I am in!

[tellico_rocks]

Come on everyone lets do this! --- June 20-21 @ 9am

[funkskunk]

Whatever is decided I'm in since I live 15 minutes from the rally meet-up But what I'm concerned about is what it is going to look like to the general public on that day. If we don't have a unified statement then it's gonna look thrown together. During the rally are there banners/shirts/placards/stickers/handouts that will identify our cause to the locals and media in case they don't know? Why can't this be a whole day thing in a public area? Why not stay in Murphy instead of just driving through, lets get a permit and hold a huge gathering with a stage for speakers to tell our side? Bring in local/state representatives or FS personnel to answer questions? If we don't have a huge media coverage the local/regional public is going to think that it's some kinda wheelin' festival and not care. If we don't behave professionally and start driving illegal vehicles on the state roads that's just gonna be another strike against us. Are we sure that we want to do this without a UFWDA, SFWDA, Blueribbon, or Tread Lightly backing? What about corporate sponsors to help with making this? Heck if we are gonna do this lets do it BIG!

Don't get me wrong, I want to do this. I just want it to be done right so that we don't look like goons whining about not being able to ride some trails. This should not be a 'Let's take a stand and screw the world' type of thing. It needs to be planned, calculated, organized, hyped up, and effective. A 'tea party' that is not well thought out looks like a 'kegger'.

[tellico_rocks]

Oh must certainly. We need it to be organized. However haven't we already tried to be organized. I mean don't get me wrong. We don't need any strikes on our side. We don't need to be showing our ass out here. We need to make a point and take a stand. We need to be alittle tougher though. Think of the nations past. The Boston Tea Party got things done. Now so will the Tellico Tea Party. Thanks for your support and we are working on keeping this organized and trying to come up with some events. We will keep everyone updated on some events for that day. Just help spread the word brother. Trust me it will be good. lets do this everybody... Lets Save Tellico!

[yellowxj]

Wife said we should tailgate party in down town. Bring our own food. Hang out with signs "$8 million Murphy will be missing out on this year" "Mayor doesnt care" " Tellico OHV brought money and jobs to Murphy" "FS applies unrealistic standards to the OHV area"

or protest at all the intersections around murphy...rigs parked on the side of the road, signs up.

Any one else emailed the mayor of murphy yet to ask him to support tellico...I did once but no response..

[boogerp]

Originally Posted by Crawfords Campground

We need to get some media coverage on this folks from the national level. Our rights as citizens are under attack by the left wing extremist and with people already being fed up with the government, this is a good time to get the issue covered. As we can see from the bias government report, we have proof the we are being excluded The last time I spoke to Ryan Fitzpatrick (Con. Shuler's Go For) I made mention as to how many veterans that come to Tellico OHV, some disabled and some not. He told me not to bring the Vet's into the issue as they are not as concerned with Tellico as I was putting it. I quickly brought to his attention the Army Strong Commercial where the Dad and Army daughter were spending quality time in a tubed out Jeep in the woods. I asked him why the US Government would use such a commercial if they did not know the demographic they were targeting. I also told him there was a Veterans Day Rally being planned. I was quickly dismissed and told that Con. Shuler stood behind whatever decision the FS made. These politicians need to be dragged into the light and forced to make a decision, it is not acceptible to sit on the fence. Wait until a decision is made and then side with the group that has won. This also goes for our local politicians here in Cherokee County and Murphy. They act the same way!
Whatever is needed to get a group protest under way I am in!

Heath Shuler was a dumbfuck when he was QB for Tennessee. This just shows he's even more of a dumbfuck by sidestepping the issue. Even though I'm 5 hrs away I might play hookey from work and join this party. Might even hang an orange #21 jersey upside down.....

[tellico_rocks]

come on.. keep spreading the word.. June 20-21st

[funkskunk]

Maybe we should setup base right outside of Moose Hollow since the politicians love it so much.

(hey tellico_rocks fix your signature it's all "[size/8][i]Font}{][" )

[4-lo]

already have a memorial day ride planned that weekend.

im just gonna call it dumb to try and get people to show up for this on MDay. (a 3day wknd for most) just sayin Im sure a lot of peeps have already made plans for a big wknd and wouldnt want to give up 3 days riding for 1 day of protest. not a bad idea just bad timing.

id be in for any other weekend.

[yellowxj]

maybe the locals that dont have another good place to go or whose businesses depended heavily on tellico will have the time to go down town memorial day weekend with some signs. I dont have the gas money to drive 4 hours to ride somewhere and I dont have any real trail jeeps left cause I've been selling them all to pay the mortgage on a shop that doesnt have many customers anymore...so I've got time. I didnt know that was memorial day weekend but that makes hanging out down town even better. The mayor will love us. Maybe there will be a parade and local news coverage will be out.

[tellico_rocks]

We are talking about a possible date change. Didn't think about it being Memorial Weekend. Lets keep spreading the word and We will try to have a better date by this afternoon.

[macm715]

you need to get more than just murphy involved. i was slamed on here when i talked about a mass protest that would draw national attention. thats what you need not local. the local attention can be pushed under a rug for the FS you need national news that cant be ignored. that draws people to look at whats happening here and other places that are being closed down. to bad people on here are scared or dont care enough to try and put what i suggested into action. it whould have made them have to show proof that is undisputable when you get lots of public and government involved. protest there state headquarters. somplace that gets lots of media attention. localy we would look like desperate people. when you plan multiple states and multiple groups on the same day thats big news and attention. but what did i know im just a dumb fourwheeler that misses tellico.

[tellico_rocks]

Well it seems we had some feed back on the original date of May 23rd. We've decide to move our rally to June 20-21st because of Memorial Day weekend. We are in the process of planning a weekend filled with events. A rock crawl competition, truck show and shine, camping, and more. Most importantly the Tellico Tea Party Rally. We are planning to flood the streets with a rally drive from the town of Murphy through trail 1 in Tellico Ohv, handing out flyers and "PEACEFULLY PROTESTING". We want to show the media and town officials what Tellico means to us and the lost revenue this has caused. This is going to be a big chance to make a stand. Please spread the word and try your hardest to come. We ask for everyone who has ever rode these trails to be here and help fight. I also encourage that all troubled trail systems take part in this all over the country on the same day. We will work on meda coverage and spreading the word to all local and national news stations. Please join in and be here. Keep posted for more info and please post if you can help...
June 20-21st --- Tellico Tea Party---

[Tiffany4Tellico]

This is an awesome idea. Please everyone consider it, and count on me to be there!

[GaWag]

Along with the "peacefull protest signs", people should put up the average anual amount of money they spend in Murphy to show what is missed by Tellico being closed. Break it down by fuel, food, lodging etc......

I agree that keeping it down town centralized or on every corner would make a larger impact and easier for the media to cover.

[Rotor-Head]

I'm in.

[mikebrsa]

this would probably be a good fit for foxnews. they are pretty anti big govt anyways and love to jump on stuff about taking people rights away

[Crawfords Campground]

You are totally right. I sent an e-mail to Glenn Beck and Fox News in regards to the seige of Public Lands. If we can get a couple hundred to do the same thing I think they will start a topic. Here are the addresses. It will take a couple of minutes to basically cut and past your responses that you sent to the FS, or type up a new one. It is worth the effort!
Glenn Beck: me@glennbeck.com
This is the general contact for reaching Glenn Beck. Please note that Glenn gets hundreds of emails everyday and while he does read them he does not always have the opportunity to answer them all.

Stu: stu@glennbeck.com
Stu is the Executive Producer and Head Writer for the Glenn Beck Program.

[k9crazy]

Originally Posted by tellico_rocks

Well it seems we had some feed back on the original date of May 23rd. We've decide to move our rally to June 20-21st because of Memorial Day weekend.

Hey ya'lll, Crawfords is booked for that weekend with Upstate Cruiser's Great Smoky Mountain Trail Ride (GSMTR). We are still having the event, but are using it as a fundraiser for Tellico. So that weekend might get complicated. I'd suggest you check with the person coordinating GSMTR. http://forum.ih8mud.com/sc-upstate-c...th-21st-2.html

[trollhole]

Ah hell. Sorry guys just was made aware of this. I'm the GSMTR Chairman.

Gonna need a day or so to talk the logistics over with the Upstate Cruisers BOD and see what we can do to make this come a reality. There is a lot involved in pulling this off. You cannot just gather 500 vehicles and go through downtown Murphy, trail 1 or any other place without first getting permission. Unless you would like to see me behind bars and my kids college fund vanish. I'm not worried about Murphy. The FS plays by a whole different set of rules.

That being said I'm always up for a challange. I spent 8 months and hundreds of hours planning this years GSMTR only to have it all made worthless with the stoke of a pen. I've been working for the past month on making a new event and rewriting the 300 GSMTR sponsorship letters. Now if we open it up to everyone that will jump to about 3000 letters.

What you can do for me is if you have some ideas, comments, connections or concerns e-mail me marshall at trollhole@upstatecruisers.net


Danny I'll call you this afternoon.

[Alabamatoy]

Originally Posted by trollhole

There is a lot involved in pulling this off. You cannot just gather 500 vehicles and go through downtown Murphy, trail 1 or any other place without first getting permission.

Who needs permission? Why not surprise them? What's illegal or "requires permission" about a bunch of friends arriving in a small town simultaneously and driving around real slow?

I think we oughta find out when some important USFS or TU event is to occur and clog that up as well.

[landrovered]

Originally Posted by Crawfords Campground

We need to get some media coverage on this folks from the national level. Our rights as citizens are under attack by the left wing extremist and with people already being fed up with the government, this is a good time to get the issue covered. As we can see from the bias government report, we have proof the we are being excluded The last time I spoke to Ryan Fitzpatrick (Con. Shuler's Go For) I made mention as to how many veterans that come to Tellico OHV, some disabled and some not. He told me not to bring the Vet's into the issue as they are not as concerned with Tellico as I was putting it. I quickly brought to his attention the Army Strong Commercial where the Dad and Army daughter were spending quality time in a tubed out Jeep in the woods. I asked him why the US Government would use such a commercial if they did not know the demographic they were targeting. I also told him there was a Veterans Day Rally being planned. I was quickly dismissed and told that Con. Shuler stood behind whatever decision the FS made. These politicians need to be dragged into the light and forced to make a decision, it is not acceptible to sit on the fence. Wait until a decision is made and then side with the group that has won. This also goes for our local politicians here in Cherokee County and Murphy. They act the same way!
Whatever is needed to get a group protest under way I am in!

I hear what you are saying but let's not forget that Tellico was closed due to the actions of Trout Unlimited and the Southeastern Law Center and muddying the waters by throwing in the kitchen sink may be theraputic but will likely not help our cause at all.

It is very important that the event have a message and everyone reads off the same script. Otherwise we come off as looneys in loud trucks and sway the public to their side instead of ours.

[Alabamatoy]

Originally Posted by landrovered

It is very important that the event have a message and everyone reads off the same script. Otherwise we come off as looneys in loud trucks and sway the public to their side instead of ours.

Hey, my Toyota is NOT loud!

TEA Party could be

Tellico's Economy Assaulted
Tellico is Everyone's Area
Tellico Eliminates Anglers
Trails Earned by All
Tellico Economics of Access
Trails, Economics and Access

Others?