We're back. What's up, Meg? Hey. I was going to look beforehand to see what episode we were on, but I totally forgot. Pretty smart of me. But you know what's awesome? I can easily just go to yoretown.com and everybody has heard me clicking. When I go to yoretown.com, not only is there a map of every single location, of every single place that we've done, you can tell me what kind of episode. Check that out for all the viewers that might be watching this instead of just listening.

We've covered 13 out of the 50 states, and this is a new state that we're going to talk to. And this is episode 43 of the Your Town podcast. Again, yoretown.com. Check it out. Even has links to all the socials, all that good stuff. But anyway, speaking of good stuff, shout out to the Deluxe Edition Network, The Den, the podcast of the month for January, because we're approaching February. Spoiler alert, there's going to be some different ones. They might even all begin with the letter F for February in food and fun.

And this is all fun. The January podcast of the month that we want to give a shout out to is Beb's Video Kingdom, Barrel-aged Flix in the Kindness Matters podcast. Speaking of kind, what's up, Meg? Hey, what's up? Kind of you to join me. So good. Yeah. What's up? How's things? Things good? Things are good. Episode 43. Did you skim it at all? I haven't done it. I have not. I only made like. A couple paragraphs. OK.

I've got zero in this. I know the topic of it because I think it was, I don't know if this one was recommended or something that I thought of. And, and obviously Zach did the research on this. So hopefully Zach will continue to crush some out because I believe he has a busy February. So, um, we'll see how this goes, but either way, like I said, he, uh, he wrote this and I have to imagine he's going to tell you 8,000 times that he wrote this. So we'll, um, should we, should we jump right into this? Let's jump. That's what I always say. So.

Um, let's go. Let's do a thing right here. And he starts off when producer Zach set out to write this episode. So guys, producer Zach wrote this episode. He was hoping it would be a story of wilderness, man versus the encroachment of big business on his rustic way of life driven by frustration and sadness to lash out at the intrusion into his world. But instead, this is story of a lifelong rabble rouser who roused a rabble with the wrong folks. Regardless, the dude got drunk.

Beard Laws (02:29.334)

and shot a hole in the trans Alaska pipeline. That sounded like it was fun to say. It was pretty good. And I didn't pre-read it, and I felt like I did really good. Just kind of rolled off the tongue. I'm kind of like a pirate with all those Rs. So spoilers over. It's a new state. It's Alaska. And it's going to be the Daniel Lewis and the Alaskan oil pipeline. I say what you want about the man known as Daniel Lewis, because deep down, every man has seen something out and about

Damn, I'd blow that up, right? That's never crossed my mind. I mean, no, I've never just driven, been out and about and be like, love to blow that thing up. Have you, Meg? No. Okay, well. But I'm also not a man. Well, man. No? Okay, well either way, Zach, you're all alone on this. Apparently he says, chili boy, Matt here. Why am I chili boy? And he wrote it C-H-I-L-L-Y, not like I eat chili.

but I'm chilly like I'm cold. Wonder if it was like a Matt Ryan reference down in there, Maddie Ice. Maybe he's a secret Falcons fan in the football. But either way, apparently I am joined, not apparently, I am joined by the intrepid and dazzling Meg. Thank you, thank you very much. And new game, every time we say the word producer, Zach, you must take a drink. So right now you're at least at 12, and producer Zach, 13, is behind the keyboard once again. This time coming at you live from a chilly counter and is nine to five, allegedly.

And this is the your town podcast. And then he puts intro if you'd like. You're not the boss of me makes the boss of this. Are you the boss of this? Or is it still me? I would rather not be the boss. OK, I'm the boss and I'll play the intro as I will. And I think when should we do it, Meg? I'll let you decide. No. OK.

Beard Laws (04:31.49)

She's good everybody. I know there was a cough through the intro. She's okay. We all cough sometimes. It's cold where we are. Remember I'm chili boy Matt here. All right. And then he says, you're not getting my money. Producer Zach said that drink. So stop trying to milk public sympathy. I was set up. This was an inside job collusion. What he means is I'm cheap. I have a bunch of kids and I'm not paying you. That's what I'm pretty sure he meant. So either way.

He doesn't really owe me anything for everybody that wants to harass him. Nobody's harassed you on the socials about the 50 bucks. So if you're not sure what we're talking about, go back a couple episodes. But we're here. Alaska, cold, I'm pretty sure. And it says the story takes place in October of 2001. So we're not throwing it back like way, way back, but it's 23, almost 23 years at this point. My graduating year. Hey, ooh, throwback 2001. Do you remember the story, hearing this? Um.

It sounds kind of familiar, but I don't really. Yeah, I don't overly know this as well. So I'm kind of intrigued. Like I've heard this story, but I don't know the details. So I'm very excited about this one. Daniel Lewis of the Living Good Homestead, 50 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska. He was out riding his four wheeler along the Trans Alaskan pipeline across access corridor with his brother, Randy. That seems like a nice Alaskan name. The two.

We're drinking beers and doing kind of their thing when for whatever reason, Daniel shouldered a three thirty eight. That's how you say that, right? I'm not I'm not a big gun guy. Three thirty eight caliber rifle. Sorry to all the gun people if I said it wrong. But he took aim at the pipeline. But before we get too far ahead, let's do a little background on the situation, the pipeline and the person. You ready for that, Meg? Mm hmm. All right.

Pipeline is an 800 mile stretch of 48 inch, 48 foot inch circumference pipe origin. I always confused the one and the two. 48 inch, four foot. I think it's inch. Yeah, could you imagine if it was 48 foot circumference? I need to be honest, I've never seen a pipeline. I mean, I guess it wouldn't make sense to have. That'd be a big pipe, right? I mean, it's 800 miles long. It's gotta be pretty big. Four foot's big. That's a big pipe. Yeah, four foot circumference pipe originating.

Beard Laws (06:50.334)

in this bay that's up there. It's like Prude Ho. Prude Ho. Yeah. But if you if you're funny, you say you're a prude ho, which is an oxymoron. And I'm a moron and ending in the city of Valdez. And it has been in constant service since it was finished in 1977, according to the Associated Press by way of the Seattle Post intelligence. Oh, that's interesting. I like that incidental gunfire has dented and marked the pipeline in the years leading up.

to Daniel and his gun, but the October 4th incident was the first time that the arms fire had actually managed to penetrate the pipeline. A pipeline which is lined with half an inch of steel and another four inches of insulation. Anybody doing math at home? That's four and a half, which is like a ton of insulation. And then Zach said, like, producer Zach Drink, said so much insulation. And penetrate, it sure did.

The whole instantly produced a geyser of crude oil, which shot straight out from the side of the pipeline across the service road and hundreds of feet into the surrounding forest. The oil left the pipe with such force, FBI agent Bruce. We're just going to go with Bruce invest, who investigated the case report, said that if you would have put your hand in front of the leak, the pressure would have actually taken off. That's a lot of force. Yeah. From Agent Bruce.

How would he know that though? I mean, like, would he, has he actually put his hand in front of the thing or is he just saying, well, it's got a 48 inch circumference on this. It's eight or nine mile long. I've been hit with a pressure washer and I don't know why Agent Bruce sounds like this. And I put my hand in front of a hose before and tell you what, that'd take your hand clear off. Or maybe it's really happened, I don't know. Sorry, Agent Bruce. Fortunately for the pipeline in wildlife.

And well, unfortunately for Daniel Lewis, a helicopter was overhead nearby, performing a routine flyover inspection of the pipeline and not only spotted the leak, but actually the two men fleeing the scene on four wheelers. The pilot also managed to clock Daniel ditch to clock Daniel ditch the firearm as he tried to make his escape. The incident was eventually contained, but not before a staggering 285,000 gallons of crude oil was dumped into the Alaskan wilderness.

Beard Laws (09:16.894)

Yikes. It's a lot of oil. Yeah, it is. But I mean, so let me throw this out here and then maybe it's in there a little bit. But you'd have to imagine if a helicopter was that close, these guys would have heard a helicopter in the area. Like, they're loud. We have an airport near us. We hear helicopters all the time. You know, you would think helicopter probably not going to shoot my big caliber rifle at this pipeline. But if they're on four wheelers. Potentially, I've never been should have helmets on.

Yeah, true. Still probably here in the helicopter. I don't know. I wasn't there, I guess. But maybe it'll be in the rest of the story. That's just that's what popped into my head. But they were drinking beer. That's hard. I would have to imagine it's hard to drink a beer with a helmet on. I don't know. I wasn't there. Me neither. Anyways, so Daniel was rounded up fairly quickly by state troopers who found the brother still in the general vicinity of the spill. Daniel's goodwill in town was nonexistent, probably due to large

Um, like a really bad history as a career criminal. According to the FBI's report on their investigation of the incident, it was very, it was made very clear of his, uh, career criminal status. The AP reported dozens of people testified at the trial, which followed, including his older brother, Randy, who, uh, obviously was with them that day that he ripped the hole in the side of the pipeline. Randy not only, um, told and kind of lined right up with the biolets claim.

that Daniel shot the pipeline intentionally, but that Daniel had actually taken aim at him moments before setting sights on the pipeline. Yikes. The pilot or the brother? I was thinking the brother. Let's run that. He not only, the pilots claim that Daniel shot the pipeline intentionally, but that Daniel had actually taken aim at him. Okay. So the brother. Interesting. Yikes. That's not good. I can't tell. I don't know.

Not a lot of family love there. Or he was like, hey, but that's that adds to my story. Like if it happened to be the pilot in the helicopter, he knows something's going on. Maybe he was like, oh, he seemed to. Maybe he hasn't seen a lot of movies in Alaska in the 2000s, but he was like, I'm going to take out the helicopter, then the pipeline. But if the helicopter fell on the pipeline, it would do that. I don't know. I don't know either. All right. So Daniel's defense tried to flip the script and say it was actually Randy who fired the shot stating in closing arguments. The helicopter was circling.

Beard Laws (11:42.346)

and he was busted and the lies started coming. In the end, the jury didn't buy it and found Daniel guilty of all five counts against him, which included oil pollution, criminal mischief, weapons misconduct, third degree assault, and driving while intoxicated. Daniel was 38 at the time, faced up to 22 years in prison. I'm gonna say I think it was the pilot now. I think so too. After reading that part. Yep, yep. Should've probably proofread.

But I think if we have questions, then our lovely listeners also have these same questions run through their heads. Maybe not. Maybe they're much smarter than me. I don't know the difference between an inch and a foot, apparently. So don't blame me. Blame my small town education. But then Daniel's legal woes didn't stop there. The following March, a federal jury found our intrepid hero guilty of unlawfully possessing the firearm used in the shooting in the first place, a felony which carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

And to top it all off, outside of the pipeline incident, Daniel caught a three and a half year charge for breaking into a U-Haul storefront in Fairbanks where he stole a safe and drove off with a truck, an incident for which Daniel had just been released from jail weeks prior to the shooting. In the end, the charges amounted to a 10 year federal sentence and a 16 year state sentence, which he was permitted to serve concurrently, in total.

Not only did Daniel's gun toting beer drinking four wheel riding afternoon in Alaska wilderness cause massive damage to the surrounding ecosystem, not to mention the loss of 285,000 gallons of oil, but the ensuing cleanup costs local officials. How much men? $13 million. Yikes. In 2006, Daniel filed an appeal claiming he received an ineffective legal counsel from his attorney. The claim was rejected by the Alaskan judge.

who saw the case in closing, producer's act. It says, don't get drunk, which is ironic, and take pop shots at multimillion dollar pieces of infrastructure, especially if you're already a felon. That's pretty good advice. Pretty good advice. You wanna do the quote? Or do you want me to? Yeah, do the thing. Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son. That's by Dean Warmer? Yeah, D. Warmer.

Beard Laws (14:01.574)

He should have, he should patent a brand of D Wormer for pets. It's Dean Wormer from D Wormer dot com. You're welcome, Dean. I got you. I don't even know. Do you know who Dean Wormer is? No. Dean Wormer. National Lampoon's Animal House. He's the main antagonist of the film. Probably should have known that. Self-in-migri I didn't. Fair enough. Way to go, Dean Vernon Wormer. All right. Shout out to our sources.

Seattle PI dot com outlook series dot com news minor dot com. No Wikipedia. Interesting. I'm going to give them a shout out anyways, because I feel it feels weird to not do it. I mean, we've done it for 40 to straight episodes. We had to make a 43 shout out Wikipedia. Congrats to you, though, producers act for being able to do this without Wikipedia.

Again, thanks everybody. This was a good start and we have some amazing stuff lined up. I'm going to show Meg. Do you like knowing potentially what it could be? Or do you like a 100% surprise? It doesn't have to be 100% surprise. We got some good stuff lined up. We got some good stuff. I'm super excited. Found some really cool topics. And now that we got 14 of the 50 states, if any listeners are out there, want to know which states we're missing, check out yoretown.com. Yeah.

And that's all we got. We're going to get there soon. And if you have a story, that is, even if it's in a state that we've already done, we just really want to continue doing this. And like I said, I think we said last episode, potentially, we're going to get some cool local stories from where we are from our county historian, potentially, coming up as well. So we've got some good stuff lined up. Thanks, all kidding aside, Zach, for writing this up and continuing putting out some great episodes and some great information.

Definitely makes my life easier. And Megan and myself, speaking on her behalf, but I think she can agree because she's not here. And we definitely love kind of the surprise factor getting in and reading these. And I did skip, I think, three to five words that I still cannot say. And I think you were watching me do that. Maybe that's gonna be a new thing that Zach can post on the socials. And if anybody is on Instagram, Zach is, he does all the posts, I put the real. So thanks again, Zach, for stepping up and doing the Instagram and these stories. Yeah, there was.

Beard Laws (16:21.026)

There's a couple big words in there. Like Agent Bruce, still don't know his last name. A couple other words we skipped. Is that Milne? No. Where'd it go? I don't know. I'm not going to be the one that has M. Where is it? I can't find it now. Either way, shout out Bruce. Over here. He's right there. Milne. That's how I'd say it. Milne. Yeah. That's why I went to Bruce. Could be. I don't know. I know everybody loves listening to me say,

things wrong. So either way, skipped it a couple opportunities. But all right, we're out of here. Thanks again, everybody for listening. We'll be back next week for Episode 44. Something pretty cool. Maybe it's a new state. Maybe it's not. But either way, people that are still listening can't thank you guys enough. So we got have a good rest of your week. I know it's Monday, we're gonna get through this and hopefully this makes your Mondays better. So take care, everybody. Bye