anyone watch AX MEN

T77911S · 03-24-2009, 03:32 AM

i dont ususlly watch reallity shows. but i watched some of this one last year, but this year, with those 2 idiots trying to get the logs out of the river is just way too funny not to watch. i started to feel sorry for those guys when they put their boat in the water and crashed into the poles. i am surprised they have lived as long as they have. the heli logging was pretty interesting. i cant see how that is profitable with the cost of the chopper, but then they dont have all that other equipment the other guys have.
i taped last nights show, went to bed at 10.

URY914 · URY914's Garage

I watch it as regular as I can. The father son team of aqua loggers is a real story of tough love. Both of them calling each other MF'ers and the son walking off. The father is a complete azz. The guy is 52 and looks 72.

The greenhorn Brad is a decent kid but seems like the crew leader is trying to run him off.

The older guy Dwayne walked off again because the crew leader wanted to work an hour overtime.

Most of these guys have anger problems. They just seem to yell at each other all day long. It's a train wreck would drive a real company's HR dept to fire them all.

exitwound · exitwound's Garage

I love the show. Turns out that S&S Aqua were just arrested for illegally logging those logs in the river. I wonder if they'll have that in upcoming episodes. Probably not. Was just on the news.

dhoward · dhoward's Garage

Curious how it's illegal to pull logs out of a river...

Zeke · 03-24-2009, 06:49 AM

I've seen it. Too much drama. Hell, if I want to see grown men piss and moan, all I have to do is walk into an auto repair shop. When is that reality show coming on?

KevinP73 · 03-24-2009, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milt

I've seen it. Too much drama. Hell, if I want to see grown men piss and moan, all I have to do is walk into an auto repair shop. When is that reality show coming on?

I'm ready for my close-up Mr. Milt.....................................

exitwound · exitwound's Garage

Here you go:

Quote:

HOQUIAM, Wash. -- A Cle Elum logger is in trouble with the state's timber police, after he was seen removing logs from the bottom of the Hoquiam River on a popular History Channel show. It turns out, removing the logs without a permit is illegal, and one of those in charge of enforcing the rule just happened to see him on the TV show.

The show is called "Ax Men," which chronicles the lives of Pacific Northwest timber cutters. And one of the loggers featured this season is Jimmy Smith, owner of S&S Aqua Logging.

"We've been in business about three years now," he says on the show. "We recover logs out of the waterways, the hazard logs, and the logs that are on the bottom."

Smith tells the History Channel it's dangerous work. He called himself an underwater accident. But his biggest mistake may have been going on TV.

You see, one of the viewers of the show was Larry Raedel, chief enforcement officer for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources

"We were tippled off by 'Ax Men,'" he said. "We watch the show as well."

The show even identified the river. So Friday, Fisheries, Natural Resources, the Grays Harbor County Sheriff and Hoquiam Police all swooped in.

What's all the fuss when the logs look like junk?

"As far as the Department of Natural Resources, the saying goes: 'We own the mud out there,' and any products that come out of that are property of the state," Raedel said.

What that means is one log may be pretty petit larceny, but a few is first-degree theft.

"Unfortunately theft of the public's resources is an all-too-common occurrence," Raedel said. "But it is unusual for people to document their illegal activity on national television."

Peter Goldmark, the state Commissioner of Public Lands, says submerged timber can be highly valuable for decorative wood. The well-preserved logs are essentially pressure treated and used in high-end applications. If properly permitted, the state's portion of the funds from the removal of these logs would go towards the management and restoration of state-owned aquatic lands.

Goldmark added the logs have high value in the water as a habitat for fish and other wildlife.

Some of the removed logs from the show are sitting on the property of Frank Fitterer. He didn't think there was anything wrong.

"They've been filming out here forever... since last summer," Fitterer said. I asked if there was any attempt to hide what they were doing: "Oh no, well I don't think anyone thought anyone was doing anything wrong."

In fact, Smith even has a Web site advertising the recovered wood. And on the job site, there is even a company logo with phone numbers.

Smith lives in Cle Elum. When he heard of the raid, he immediately went to the Department of Natural Resources, and agents say he's cooperating.

The timber seized included 20 mature trees as well as smaller wood products, between six and 10 feet in length. The largest logs are about 20 to 30 feet long and about three feet in diameter, Raedel said.

Smith said on the show that the logs were worth about $10,000, according to search warrant records.

When "Ax Men" debuted last year, it became the History Channel's most popular series with more than 2 million weekly viewers. This season began airing March 2 and features two timber crews from Washington, two from Oregon and one from Montana.

dhoward · dhoward's Garage

Apparently the Washington Department of Natural Resources doesn't have enough to do.

fingpilot · 03-24-2009, 08:40 AM

Like most states these days, the words 'code enforcement' are simply a mirror for the words 'revenue enhancement'.

T77911S · 03-24-2009, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milt

I've seen it. Too much drama. Hell, if I want to see grown men piss and moan, all I have to do is walk into an auto repair shop. When is that reality show coming on?

it was kinda educational at first. never thought anyone would log with a Hcopter.
what a life, i would not last a day! the king crab fisherman are the same way. those are some tough guys. i would love to be out on the ocean but not working that hard.

that jesse kid got pissed at the camera crew last week. he cant handle the presure.

we would watch gene simmons too. not a fan of kiss by any means, he just seemed interesting. his kids have good heads on their shoulders even after being raised in that life style, much better than ozzy;s kids

Moses · 03-24-2009, 09:05 AM

It's about control. The state has no real interest in recovering timber from the river, but they won't let that two-man logging operation do it either. Better to shut them down and let them go on welfare and collect food stamps like they are supposed to.

T77911S · 03-24-2009, 09:57 AM

i wonder what a permit to log the river cost?

exitwound · exitwound's Garage

It's probably really cheap. They just didn't realize they needed it at the time of filming. I'm better they got one if they plan on filming there again.

Moses · 03-24-2009, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exitwound

It's probably really cheap. They just didn't realize they needed it at the time of filming. I'm better they got one if they plan on filming there again.

I suspect they may not allow permits for salvage logging at all. Read the article, the state is probably not too worried about failure to obtain a permit.*They are concerned with disruption of "underwater ecosystems" and theft of "state property."

T77911S · 03-24-2009, 10:34 AM

there are companies that log sunken logs, been doing for quite a while now. might be where it is done.

pwd72s · 03-24-2009, 11:16 PM

Ask most Pacific Northwest loggers about that show, and they'll tell you it's 95% bull caca. Need I remind you? I live in a timber town...even set chockers one summer for school money. One summer was enough for me...

The only truth is that logging is the most dangerous work in the USA...based on the number of fatalities per worker.

Still, a lot of BS in that show...the crew I worked with was very safety oriented.

Sure heard a lot of fantasies while riding in a Crummy, tho...