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mmdals1

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  1. Here's a new post I just posted related to this topic. http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=156886 Mark D
  2. An amusing (but educational) event happened yesterday and I thought I’d share it with you. As a piece of background information, I am a police officer in Dubuque, Iowa and have been caching for a couple of years. Yesterday afternoon I was in my office when I heard a dispatcher sending cars to check out a suspicious person call. An employee of a downtown business called in and said a man was seen in the parking lot on University Avenue just west of Bluff St. taking a rock out of the wall, remove something and mess with it and then return the item and cover it up (sound familiar to anyone?). The man then got in his car and was last seen southbound on Bluff. They gave out the plate, car description and subject’s description and there happened to be several cars in the area that probably would have found and stopped him. I was on the phone dictating a report so I quickly paused it and scrambled for my cell phone. I called dispatch and told them to call off the cars and quickly explained it. One car went to the area and the complainant showed him the spot. The officer recovered a small Tupperware dish with a log book and the usual small trinkets and took it to the station. The Lieutenant working the desk knew exactly what it was because he and I had discussed it before and he dabbled in caching a few years ago. Everyone got a good chuckle about it when it was over. The funniest part was that when they were pulling the cache, the complainant said, “Look like meth to me,” even though a Happy Meal toy was plainly visible. The officer then took it back and replaced it. Even though it was funny it taught a couple of lessons. These tips are from www.geocacher-u.com: Important things to consider when placing or maintaining your geocache: 1.Make sure that your geocache can easily be identified as a geocache. 2.Use a clear container, if possible, so that the contents are easily identified. 3.Identify your container as a geocache by marking the outside of the container or attaching an Official Geocache sticker. 4.Make sure that you have permission from the landowner to place your cache on their property. Also, avoid “questionable areas” such as under bridges, “suspicious packages” by public facilities, or anywhere else where it could cause a panic in these modern days. Also remember that if you happen to get stopped by a police officer/deputy/trooper/park ranger, remember to be courteous, explain what you were doing, and always…smile!! Remember, law enforcement officers are people too. They deal with the unknown and an increasingly bizarre and dangerous world. Many cops, especially here in the midwest, are fans of the outdoors and many would appreciate the idea of caching. I have developed many new caching friends by babling about it at work. When I go caching out of my work area, I carry a copy of the brochure from geocacher-u.com that explains caching further in case it’s needed. It can be printed up here: http://www.geocacher-u.com/resources/brochure.html. This was a story with a happy ending, but that might not always be the case if you "bend" the rules. Good luck, and Good Caching!! Mark D
  3. I've had good luck with this company: http://www.colemans.com/ Mark D
  4. Just hit 16 yrs. this past September, which was a milestone...Half Way to Retirement!! Currently afternoon patrol supervisor of a city agency Mark D
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