Kayakers, canoes, rowers, etc, tend to be the most respectful of the waterways as their presence is typically far less intrusive than the mansions' fertilizers and chemicals that runoff into the waterways and destroy ecosystems. (I'm not speaking to the Bettses, just anecdotal from growing up and living around bodies of water and the people who ruin them)

Why limit it to those evil people that can afford a mansion next to the water ? Shouldn't we be blaming all those that use a bag of Weed n Feed ?

Hey, wait - that's me.

See where I'm going with this ?

I'm going to assume you control a piece of grass, ever use Atrazine? Fertilizer ?

If you have an organic means to control weeds and promote growth of the grass in your yard, please share !

Edit: not trying to pick a fight with you Porkchopbob, but come on, especially in Florida, the main problem is not homeowners next to a body of water.

[Edited on 3/29/2017 by heineken515]

Kayakers, canoes, rowers, etc, tend to be the most respectful of the waterways as their presence is typically far less intrusive than the mansions' fertilizers and chemicals that runoff into the waterways and destroy ecosystems. (I'm not speaking to the Bettses, just anecdotal from growing up and living around bodies of water and the people who ruin them)

Why limit it to those evil people that can afford a mansion next to the water ? Shouldn't we be blaming all those that use a bag of Weed n Feed ?

Hey, wait - that's me.

See where I'm going with this ?

I'm going to assume you control a piece of grass, ever use Atrazine? Fertilizer ?

If you have an organic means to control weeds and promote growth of the grass in your yard, please share !

Edit: not trying to pick a fight with you Porkchopbob, but come on, especially in Florida, the main problem is not homeowners next to a body of water.

Nah, I get ya, like I said, purely anecdotal. I don't own any grass, and I like it that way. I don't want to waste water, money, or my time. And this is totally for another topic, I'd love to chat about it. If you want to treat your lawn and you are lucky enough to live on the water, that's great. Most fertilizer today is pretty harmless, but I grew up in a city that was on 3 big lakes, and the run off does accelerate the growth of algae within the lake, which can be very harmful for the ecosystem (never mind, unpleasant to smell). Growing up there were plenty of times the lakes were unusable (of course they were far better off than water ways 100 years prior, which were literally sewers, but again, another topic). I was just pointing out that some people who do move to be close to nature end up harming what they love. There's an old saying (which isn't totally true): if you love the country, live in the city.

The guy on the 911 says hundreds of kids? WTF? How many kids are that into rowing?

Then they talk about weddings and social events which I could see becoming quite a pain in the ass after a while. If my neighbors started to have hundreds of kids there daily with weddings on the weekend, that would piss me off.

Not saying what she did was right or even the actions of someone sane but it is obviously someone who has had it. I imagine that a few drinks and some anger caused her to react.

I did get a laugh at reading that Dickey disrupts the wedding bands with loud electric guitar. Can't shake the image of Dickey out on his dock with a Marshall amp cranked right up and giving them an earful. Wonder if there were any tapers there? 😉

Green River? Born On The Bayou? Sitting On The Dock of The Bay?

"I got to change my way of living"

This is an amazing thread.

The guy on the 911 says hundreds of kids? WTF? How many kids are that into rowing?

Then they talk about weddings and social events which I could see becoming quite a pain in the ass after a while. If my neighbors started to have hundreds of kids there daily with weddings on the weekend, that would piss me off.

Not saying what she did was right or even the actions of someone sane but it is obviously someone who has had it. I imagine that a few drinks and some anger caused her to react.

I did get a laugh at reading that Dickey disrupts the wedding bands with loud electric guitar. Can't shake the image of Dickey out on his dock with a Marshall amp cranked right up and giving them an earful. Wonder if there were any tapers there? 😉

Green River? Born On The Bayou? Sitting On The Dock of The Bay?

LMAO! Proud Mary?

Nice to see that they gave you parole from the MT thread for a change.

😮 🙁 Oh dear .... problems problems ...I live on L.I. N.Y. My family was fortunate enough to have had water front property as well. It was hard work that earned that luxury. With the population always expending and many people wanting that Lifestyle I get where the agitation can contribute to someone's else discomfort . What ever there is as far as land and sea well that's it . Seems to be getting smaller every year ...scary....
Let's face it people including myself can be weird and quirky at times and what seems normal to us will offend someone else.

If Donna's feels her life is ruined by (what ) Im not even sure what went on , well that's her progroative to feel that way> to take it to a level of aming a rifle at human beings ( no less teenagers) that is just not cool.. she needed to find a way to communicate with them somehow in a non threatening manner. When anger takes over most of the time you can bet on bad results... if your the injured party had disturbing and disrupting behavior invade their peace and quiet . You have to be approachable in a positive way to get positive results... being quick and out of control with a rifle said something else.
People can really piss ya off thou... anywhere , on the road , in the water , on the water, by your home , at work ,in school , on planes , buses , taxis its friggin endless...sounds like a Bob Dylan song somewhere in here.

Jail time for Donna would be very bad but the message would be heard and then what happens to the teenagers ??????

PS I enjoyed readin this thread sad it happened but darn it , it gave me a chuckle or two on a night I needed to have that..Thanks to all for your sense of humors guys..

I miss it here 🙁

Maybe the Betts's should move to Arizona, George Strait might give em a good price on some oceanfront property

The guy on the 911 says hundreds of kids? WTF? How many kids are that into rowing?

Then they talk about weddings and social events which I could see becoming quite a pain in the ass after a while. If my neighbors started to have hundreds of kids there daily with weddings on the weekend, that would piss me off.

Not saying what she did was right or even the actions of someone sane but it is obviously someone who has had it. I imagine that a few drinks and some anger caused her to react.

I did get a laugh at reading that Dickey disrupts the wedding bands with loud electric guitar. Can't shake the image of Dickey out on his dock with a Marshall amp cranked right up and giving them an earful. Wonder if there were any tapers there? 😉

Great post!

I grew up on a lake with waterfront property . Things can get kinda hairy at times.

[Edited on 3/30/2017 by jszfunk]

Dickey out on his dock with a Marshall amp cranked right up and giving them an earful. Wonder if there were any tapers there? 😉

Wedding guests screaming requests for "Liz Reed" and "Blue Sky"! 😉

And the guys in the wedding band are just trying to make a living and doing the best they can.

Too damn funny.

Hundreds of kids out here? The length of that dock? Wedding bands, parties next door? That would really be awful if you moved in before the govt allowed that to go in instead of just another lake house.

Here was from the article:
http://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20170329/judge-orders-180000-bond-for-donna-betts

"Prosecutors said that Donna Betts had been charged with contempt in 2012 and that a 2014 civil injunction was issued against her and Dickey Betts to prevent them from disturbing guests at Bay Preserve, which hosts weddings, elementary school classes and rowing practices.

Affidavits said gunshots had been heard at the property during a Sarasota Crew meeting on Dec. 13, 2013, and the Bettses had previously used electric guitars and air horns to disrupt wedding bands. It also stated that the Bettses shouted obscenities at Bay Preserve guests and that Donna Betts left a message stating the "Palm Ball," the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast's biggest fundraiser, "isn't going to happen."

The "Palm Ball" raises the money needed for operations at Bay Preserve. A judge issued a temporary injunction Feb. 6, 2014, to prevent the Bettses from causing "irreparable harm" to the event."

It is a shame they built a home with hard earned money in evidently a different calmer setting and had it changed. Probably by some politician in the pocket of this conservation.

Here is the ludicrous and I see it here in some enviro charity outfits, the name is a 180 flip on what they are. This Gulf Conversation, takes a bay and makes it a carnival of people activities. Alcohol, bad wedding bands, and stupid guests help the gulf how? Fleets of loud teenage rowers are taught enviro stewardship how? etc....... it is about money, peoples ego glory, politics, and hosted dinners with photos.

We have a group here: Citizens For A Better Flathead. People donate money to "save" the beautiful Flathead Valley. All their money goes to is attorney lawsuit money, as they blanket sue everything. Not a penny to the little bunny wabbits, or Bambi. And the kicker, is their home base is a downtown dilapidated building, peeling paint, and weeds.

I bet this Gulf Savior Of All outfit is more, well, like a social club. I think I'll donate.

FREE DONNA

FREE DONNA

I don't know who Donna Goudeau is, just found the image to expand on bird's idea !

Fundraiser shirts !

It's like Revonah said - if you don't want neighboring property (adversely) developed - PURCHASE IT.

Stuff like this happens in land-locked areas as well. When I lived in Birmingham there was a beautiful Italianate villa that sat on the mountain with an impressive view of the city. How I wished that I could afford that house! Well, someone bought it and then a developer bought the lot across the street and put up a high-rise condo building that completely blocked the view of the villa.

Goes to show that even if you can afford a slice of paradise - you likely cant afford to buy the whole pie.

I feel Dickey's pain, but his (and Donna's) reaction are just unacceptable.

This story reminds me of the two Seth Rogen Neighbors movies. Rowdy young neighbors move in nextdoor and disturb your peace so often that one day you snap and do things you never imagined you would do to try to get rid of them. I have lived near restaurants that had horribly noisy parties--usually wedding parties, and I spent many hours plotting my revenge, which probably would have entailed something illegal. I'm sure I'm not the only one here who has lived near the neighbors from hell. I ended up simply boycotting the restaurants and moved away from them--this caused me to lose several "buckets of money," but it was well worth it. . I think Donna deserves a lot more sympathy and maybe a little therapy. I hope Dickey Betts can use some of his Rambling Man money to move to a home with more privacy. Free Donna!

[Edited on 3/30/2017 by jackstrawfromWichita]

[Edited on 3/30/2017 by jackstrawfromWichita]

It is pretty clear the Betts don't have a leg to stand on and besides the humorous posts in here any of those trying to act like this is not just drunken redneck insanity are kidding themselves.And clearly the Judge knows it.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20170329/judge-orders-180000-bond-for-donna-betts

With rising tides and increased frequency of deadly storms, waterfront property will be worth sh!t soon. sell it and move on, while you still can.

[Edited on 3/30/2017 by pops42]

Indeed Pops.
After Sandy I was talking with some FEMA workers from Louisiana.
They were telling me how the bayou is disappearing due to rising water.
We were getting flooded on full moon tides with no storm.
Then there's the whole flood insurance discussion.
But the reason I'm posting is I came up with a solution.
The Betts family leases their yard to the local hunting/conservation group.
The group is then allowed to bring in "hundreds" of youth who will then be instructed on how to shoot shotguns.
Then from the bay we will hear "row, row, duck,row."
Seriously I hope Dickey can sell the place and get some acreage where he can play and shoot with nobody bothering them.

With rising tides and increased frequency of deadly storms, waterfront property will be worth sh!t soon. sell it and move on, while you still can.

[Edited on 3/30/2017 by pops42]

I agree. I personally would never live that close to a large body of water.

I live near the Delaware river but not close enough that it would flood the house and yard which tends to happen when there's a lot of rain or in the winter when lots of snow and finally melts.

i'd be curious to hear the whole story, from before 2006 and the court battles i'm sure took place after. this has all the markings of a great documentary. Al Paul are you listening? take a dip into documentary film making, you'd be the man to do it.

you could do a kickstarter thing to fund it.

[Edited on 3/30/2017 by LeglizHemp]

[Edited on 3/30/2017 by LeglizHemp]

i wonder if some of those kids had massive stereo's in their cars, the kind that would rattle your windows. if you were a "night" person and liked to sleep in. it's just a sad situation, i hope she gets probation and they sell the place. they've gotten screwed.

It's a beautiful home that he has and he should have the right to some privacy to go along with some peace and quiet. He enjoys the peace and tranquility of his yard and it's unfortunate the path it's taken.

There should be laws in place for all the homeowners that force some sort of distance between the residents and the rower crews. When whatever grants and access decisions were made to whomever it should have been addressed how far off shore they need to be and limitations as to the amount of noise they can make. Most bodies of water can gain water access in a variety of non residential areas like beaches or boating docks. Why give access there?

It may be too late to negotiate seeing the fox is already allowed in the hen house. With the past history of the issue the kids and whoever is running the show may be spiteful and purposely unruly trying to draw their ire. It sucks that the man can't just enjoy the last years of his life without the BS.

I seriously wonder if some posters have ever watched any rowing.

The most noise is likely to be from a coach shouting instructions from a bicycle alongside of the course but that clearly doesn't apply here.

After that, the cox - if there even is one - calling instructions to the crew.

Apart from that - nothing. If rowers are "pulling" seriously, they aren't going to have the breath to make much noise.

I would imagine that there is a lot more noise from motorised craft on the bay. I have visited the area on a manatee conservation project and speeding motorboats are one of the biggest threats.

I think he played "Crazy Love". Sad situation all around

couple things i have gathered since the story broke is:

that part of the inter coastal is not an idle zone, the rowers disrupt water traffic.

there is a new multi-million dollar rowing facility that opened recently in town

the "park" is still zoned residential

The guy on the 911 says hundreds of kids? WTF? How many kids are that into rowing?

Then they talk about weddings and social events which I could see becoming quite a pain in the ass after a while. If my neighbors started to have hundreds of kids there daily with weddings on the weekend, that would piss me off.

Not saying what she did was right or even the actions of someone sane but it is obviously someone who has had it. I imagine that a few drinks and some anger caused her to react.

I did get a laugh at reading that Dickey disrupts the wedding bands with loud electric guitar. Can't shake the image of Dickey out on his dock with a Marshall amp cranked right up and giving them an earful. Wonder if there were any tapers there? 😉

Wedding guests screaming requests for "Liz Reed" and "Blue Sky"! 😉

I understand Jack Pearson had to quit his gig with that wedding band because Dickey wouldn't turn down.

Bottom line is you don't own the water in front of your house (if it's a public waterway) anymore than you own the airspace above it.

Suck it up, Donna.

And don't go pointing guns at people just because you don't like fact number one.

With rising tides and increased frequency of deadly storms, waterfront property will be worth sh!t soon. sell it and move on, while you still can.

[Edited on 3/30/2017 by pops42]

I doubt that, maybe in some areas, but over all no.

While spending time on the waterways of Jacksonville and now Ft Myers area, I have gawked at the beautiful homes located on said waterways.

For a long time I thought how nice it must be, but then I realized - I am staring right onto not only their back porches, but often times right into their back windows.

My desire for privacy far out weighs the desire to have a place on the water.

I suppose there is always a remote lake in the woods somewhere.

Re: They should just move.
Re: If they try to sell it is now their fault they can't

I have personal experience with two different "neighbor" situations with friends selling properties. It can reduce sale amount. It can be harder to sell. People had to actually list on sale disclosure form of neighbor issues. The way I see it, the property probably took a hit. I would advise selling regardless. The odds of shutting down this operation are probably slim.

Donna has legal issues. I would be mad if I paid Florida taxes and prosecution time and jail cost were wasted on an intoxicated unloaded gun situation. When the murder, rapes, child crimes, gangs are all resolved, then I say go after the rowdy senior citizens. Sound like they stacked the charges for negotiation room to squeeze a plea deal. Turning one intoxicated event into 18 felonies is a stretch, conviction wise.

And the slant on we need experience around rowing teams to be able to judge.... I have experience around 100 kids, does that count? Oh, they were sooooo quiet

While the jokes are funny, thinking about Dickey blaring his guitars at the neighbors, the whole situation makes me sad. I don't want to picture one of my guitar idols living out his golden years as a grumpy old man staring down kids, with guns leaning on his chair. That's Skynyrd type behavior. Maybe it's karma for being an a$$hole for so many years, but still, the situation sucks.

And with the recent passing of Butch, it just seems like when these guys retire from the road or the band retires, they don't know what to do with themselves and things get crazy. I wish all the original members peace and serenity.