Kandee Johnson -
(It is stated “innocent until proven guilty” in a court of law, but this really depends on how you look at it. When a crime is committed and you become a suspect, you are treated as if you’re guilty.)..........
It’s not the way things are supposed to be done in America. My good friend, Kandee Johnson, has been accused of ridiculous things. What bothers me about this is people are making accusations about her that are not true or are stating that she did something wrong, when she didn’t . They are people that hid behind cute, little internet names and make claims about a person who they don’t know. I call them cowards. I have known Kandee for many years and some of these people claim to know her. I would also know these people if they were really knew her. Kandee has a handful of friends that she talks to regularly and I’m proud to be one of them.
About the charges Kandee was staying at my house in LA…she was down here working because there is no work in the town she lives in. I happened to be with her at the time the incident happened. The officer’s report stated that she left her son at home alone for a day or more alone. I know for a fact that her mom was there, watching her son prior to the incident because I heard her talking on the phone with her, discussing who was going to take care of her son. Her mom did leave to head back to LA and Kandee had spoken to her son. He explained that he would be over at the neighbors’ house until her friend could come to pick him up to watch him for the rest of the time she was out of town. In the meantime, her son and his friend decided to light things on fire with hair spray. The police were called out at this time. The officer did not charge her son, but he wanted to direct his action toward the fact that the officer couldn’t figure out where the kid’s parents were. He then started interrogating the 12-year-old boy. In the report, the officer states that the boy was lying about what he had lit on fire. He then went on in his report to say he believes the kid when he said didn’t know the name of his mom’s very close friend’s name. I’m no rocket scientist, but if a sacred 12-year-old boy who knows he’s in trouble tells me he didn’t know who is supposed to be watching him I would think he is lying, to protect himself from getting in more trouble. The officer then asked if he had his mom’s phone number, the son said, “no” and the officer believed him. Once again, rocket science. The officer went through Kandee’s whole house to do this big investigation. What the officer came up with was “borderline unsanitary.” From my understanding, there was dirty dishes in the sink and the kids has left food out on the counter. He did not find any thing like drugs, alcohol, raw sewage, rats and roaches, or anything other thing that would be considered “child endangerment.” With all the fine police work being done he never even called Kandee to talk to her and find out what was really going on. Kandee’s grandparents showed up and took her son with them and notified her of the situation. The office never tried to contact either of the boy’s parents. He wrote a report based on a kid that already admitted to lying to him. Kandee called the officer just moments after she found out what happened. I could hear the officer talking to her. He did not want to listen to her or even let he tell her side of the story. My thought is he was embarrassed because he had been had by a 12 year old boy. The reason I say this is, her son was not charged with anything. He had outwitted a grown man. The sad thing about this is, now, she has to face the court taking her kids away. For what? Being at work and your kid getting into trouble? I remember being at parties in high school when my friend’s parents were out of town. There were underage kids drinking and the police showed up. The house was trashed. Never once did any of the parents face charges like this. The bottom line is, kids misbehave. You have to use some judgment when you charge someone with stuff like this. The sad thing is, there are kids that do need this protection and the people who are in charge of it, can’t even do their job right.
Another thing that bothers me is, people do not ever search for the truth. They just assume someone is guilty. They want to believe it more than the truth. The story got leaked to the press and again, no one contacted Kandee. She tried to contact them and the editor hung up the phone on her. People just don’t want to do their jobs. They just want to point fingers and make accusations. She finally got through and someone took down a short statement. The funny thing is, there is an amazing story here. It’s about a mother who is taking care of three kids, with no financial help from anyone. She refused to be a victim and worked every waking moment and took care of her kids, which at the same time adds up to 18+ hrs a day. Her life had not been easy but through positive thoughts and hard work, she is on her way to turning things around. Because Kandee has the most amazing fans that love her dearly, they offered to donate money to help her. She set up a PayPal account at their request. She managed to get just enough to pay for the first installment for her attorney. How’s this for a story but the news want to just take the easy way and report the negative even if it is not the truth. Finding the truth takes work. But then again, they are journalists and part of that is to get the whole story. So, do your job. You might enjoy what you find out.
In my opinion, Kandee should be getting an award for her dedication to her kids. I have never seen a more loving mom. One of the things she told me that sticks out in my head is, “I would do anything for my kids. I just want them to be able to have the opportunities that I never did. That is why I’m doing all of this.” She also said, “I will make it. My family has no choice.” That is why Kandee is one of my closest friends. She has the biggest heart and is by far the nicest person I have ever met. I read a comment that said the way she is on the Internet is not how she is in real life. I agree. She is more amazing in real life. Kandee is an inspiration and has given hope to millions through her YouTube, Facebook and Blog posts. Only someone who does not really know her would say some things bad about her. So, yes, Kandee is guilty. She is guilty of being a good mom, friend, and human being.
By Ian Ruhter
John Jackson testing out the new run in for the jump as the sun was setting.
John wondering what is possible to do over the massive gap. We saw the sun rise and set while we worked on this project. What a long day!
Here we are the next day get ready for the gap jump.What we do is nothing like the Ex Games were you have people to wax your board. This is a look at what real snowboarding is like.
The true spirit of snowboarding is in the backcountry. Most people only see snowboarding on TV by watching contest like the Ex Games . If you don't know the way they portray this sport is as fake as any other realty show. This is it no glam we are out on the front lines pushing things as far as humanely possible.
Jake Welch waiting to see what the day will bring.
On one of John attempts at this gap he took a pretty had fall. This photo shows how high the consequences are for doing some thing like this. This is what I mean when it say things don't add up!
This is a look at the entire gap you can see how far he had to jump to make it. To go this far and end up on your head is just a crazy thought. You don't get snowboarder of the year by not taking chances.The jump ended up working out John got a few tricks on it. You will be able to see them when his interview comes out in snowboarder mag next year. These are the kinds of jumps that John is known for. He has incredible determination every day we go out he pushes snowboarding as far as possible. This is not a made for TV event this is the real deal. This is about love sometimes it hearts but when it works out there is no better felling. 
