Fetters Setters ~ What Some People Will Say and Do to Sell a Dog ...

The Strange Case of The Missing Codicil

2011-02-21T02:53:00.020-05:00

These circumstances were not so much about someone trying to sell a dog as an instance of someone trying to sell John "on" a dog. Even that in itself would not be that unusual ~ except it eventually led to claims about the Estate of George Bird Evans which we finally felt compelled to investigate for ourselves.
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While we usually would not publish private correspondence of such a nature, this instance took such a strange turn that we were encouraged to make it available to the sporting public. We have not formed any conclusions from this series of events and discoveries ~ and leave our readers to form their own judgements and opinions, if any.
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In June of 2010, John received an inquiry through our "Fetters Setters ~ Contact Us" page from a person identifying himself as "James Ramsey" ~ who claimed he has owned Old Hemlock English Setters for over 20 years ~ and whose emails indicated that they were originating in the state of Ohio. At no point in the correspondence however did Mr. Ramsey ever provide John with a city or town of residence, address or phone number. And so we have never conclusively verified that the person writing to John was actually a person named "James Ramsey" (we have retained the original emails including headers), although we will refer to this correspondent as such throughout this article for the sake of clarification and convenience.

A cursory inquiry using an internet search engine shows more than 90 people residing in the state of Ohio with the name of James Ramsey ~ and a Google Search with the search term "James Ramsey, Old Hemlock" brings up a photo of a James Ramsey with Kay Evans on the Old Hemlock web site pages ~ however again, whether or not this is the same James Ramsey who wrote to John (or whether it was someone else using the name "James Ramsey") has not been positively verified by us at this time (click on following thumbnails for larger versions).

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Screen shot of Google search result using the search terms: "James Ramsey, Old Hemlock":

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Screen shot of Old Hemlock web site showing photo of James Ramsey and Kay Evans, result of Google search above:

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On June 27th, 2010, John received an inquiry from this individual inquiring about the availablility of Fetters Setters puppies. The following screen shots are of the entire series of correspondence with explanations and comments where we feel appropriate. Click on the thumbnails for larger versions ~ browser windows may have to be maximized for proper type size.

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Original inquiry from James Ramsey (at bottom) dated June 27th, 2010, and John's reply dated June 29th, 2010 (on top):

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Reply email from James Ramsey dated July 4th, 2010, in which he refers to specific genetic problems in the current Old Hemlock English Setter breedings (more on this later):

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Reply email from John dated July 8th, 2010:

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Reply email from James Ramsey dated July 13th, 2010:

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After never receiving any photos from Mr. Ramsey, John sent the following email to him on August 1st, 2010, as it had been sometime since Mr. Ramsey had offered to send photos:

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Reply email from James Ramsey dated August 2nd, 2010:

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Reply email from John dated August 5th, 2010, at which time John also forwarded to Mr. Ramsey all the email correspondence between them to-date to show that indeed, no photos were ever received by John. This email is also where John questions James Ramsey about how Mr. Ramsey plans on dealing with the Old Hemlock breeding contract:

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Reply email from Mr. Ramsey, dated August 8th, 2010, where he reveals that he believes there was a codicil in the Last Will and Testament of George Bird Evans which would provide Mr. Ramsey with a puppy anytime he needed one, free for life, and that the current people in charge of Old Hemlock and the Old Hemlock bloodline will not honor that codicil:

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Several points should be noted here. First, John has been receiving information for years referring to various proven genetic problems within the Old Hemlock bloodlines (it has been fairly well-known for years that even George Bird Evans himself refused to deal with recurring instances of hip dysplasia within the line), so it was no surprise when genetic problems within the line were referred to yet again in Mr. Ramsey's emails.

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Indeed in the January 2009 Old Hemlock Newsletter, the Old Hemlock people themselves refer to an instance of a puppy with one blue eye and one brown eye which they believe will stay that way the rest of his life ~ and ironically enough, was one of the many genetic problems encountered by Bobby Sumner of West Virginia when he bought a number of English Setters from Carl and Ellen (Ryman) Calkins. Click on thumbnail below for a larger version of relevant shot of the January 2009 Old Hemlock Newsletter from an article titled "Old Hemlock Puppies" by Mike Krol:

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Secondly, we have heard unverified rumors for years surrounding the Estate and Last Will and Testament of George Bird Evans ~ some originating with people residing in the Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, area. We never paid much attention to these rumors as rumors are just that: rumors ~ and we never felt the need to look into them further as they did not affect us one way or another.

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However after this reference in Mr. Ramsey's email concerning an un-honored codicil in George Bird Evans' will, we made several inquiries and received a number of relative documents from the County Clerk of Preston County, West Virginia.

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All wills from Preston County, West Virgina (where Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, is located), are registered in the Preston County Clerks Office and are a matter of public record. These documents can be obtained by any interested party for a nominal copying fee by contacting the County Clerk of Preston County, 106 West Main Street, Suite 103, Kingwood, WV 26537.

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The records on file at the Preston County Courthouse show that George Bird Evans died "intestate." That is, George Bird Evans died with no Last Will and Testament ~ and at the time of our inquiry, his estate had not yet been probated.

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So ~ as of the public record ~ there was not only no codicil as James Ramsey referred to in his email, there is in fact, no will at all ~ at least as far as sworn legal records filed with the Preston County Clerk of Courts indicate as of this date. Although George Bird Evans' estate was valued at more than $4.5 million around the time Kay Evans passed away nearly 10 years later (thumbnails appear below for larger versions of all documents obtained from the Preston County Clerk of Courts), again, his estate had still not been probated at the time of our inquiry.

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We found this rather surprising as George Bird Evans' will has been referred to repeatedly by Old Hemlock sources. Several examples of these referrals are below (click on thumbnails for larger versions):

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On the Old Hemlock web page, maintained by LeJay Graffious, George Bird and Kay Evans' wills (plural) are referred to at least once:

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In the January 2009 Old Hemlock Newsletter, in an article authored by LeJay Graffious, the two "wills" (plural) are again referred to:

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In the January 2009 Old Hemlock Newletter in an article authored by Kay Evans (with the reported assistance of LeJay Graffious), Kay refers to a time in 1988 when she and George were working on their respective "last wills" (again, plural):

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While the entire collection of documents we received from the Preston County Courthouse appear below (click on thumbnails for larger versions) and may indeed be obtained by any interested party themselves from the Preston County Courthouse, we would like first to present a timeline of documented events to put matters into better perspective:

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_____1988: Year in which Kay Evans says she and George were working on their "last wills" (plural), stated in an April 1999 article authored by her and published in the January 2009 Old Hemlock Newsletter

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_____May 5th, 1998: George Bird Evans dies

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_____March 25th, 1999: Date of Kay Evans' Last Will and Testament, filed and probated on March 27th, 2007, with the Preston County Clerk of Courts naming LeJay Graffious as her Executor and giving him unlimited control over any assets, with the sole Beneficiary named as the Kathryn H. Evans Trust Agreement c/o LeJay Graffious

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_____April 1999: Kay Evans authors an article (with the reported assistance of LeJay Graffious) which states that she and George "were working on our last wills in 1988 ..." The article appears in the January 2009 Old Hemlock Newsletter

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_____January 4th, 2007: LeJay Graffious files to be named Administrator of the George Bird Evans Estate with a Bond of Fidiciary provided by Charles H. Brown and Betty G. Brown of Kingwood, West Virginia, and LeJay Graffious swears under oath that George Bird Evans died intestate, that is, without a will

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_____March 25th, 2007: Kay Evans dies

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_____March 27th, 2007: The Last Will and Testament of Kay Evans is filed and probated with the Preston County Clerk of Courts, the sole beneficiary named as the Kathryn H. Evans Trust Agreement c/o LeJay Graffious; LeJay Graffious is named as Executor of the Estate of Kay Evans with unlimited control over any assets and swearing an Oath of Fidiciary with any surety waived in the terms of Kay Evans' will>>>

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_____January 2009: Old Hemlock Newsletter is published with the April 1999 article authored by Kay Evans (referred to above) in which she states she and George were working on their wills in 1988; and also includes a reference in an article written by LeJay Graffious as to his being "the Executor of the Evanses' wills ..." (plural)

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_____March 13th, 2009: Appraisement of the Estate of George Bird Evans is filed with the Preston County Clerk of Courts Office, valuing the estate at over $4.5 million including corporate stock exceeding $3.3 million.

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_____August 2010: We are informed by the Preston County Clerk of Courts that the Estate of George Bird Evans has yet to be probated

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Larger versions of the documents we received from the Preston County Courthouse can be accessed by clicking on the following thumbnails, and again, can also be obtained by any interested party directly from the Preston County Clerk of Courts Office in Kingwood, West Virginia, for a nominal copying fee:

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January 4th, 2007, Estate of George Bird Evans documents stating George Bird Evans died intestate (4 pages total):

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Page 1 of 4 ~ LeJay Graffious files as Administrator for the Estate of George Bird Evans:

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Page 2 of 4 ~ Bond of Fidiciary for LeJay Graffious with Charles H. Brown and Betty G. Brown, both of Kingwood, West Virginia, named as Surities in the amount of $500.00:

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Page 3 of 4 ~ Oath of Fidiciary for the Estate of George Bird Evans sworn by LeJay Graffious
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Page 4 of 4 ~ LeJay Graffious swears that George Bird Evans died intestate (without a will):

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Appraisement of the Estate of George Bird Evans (4 pages) filed on March 13th, 2009, showing total assets valued at over $4.5 million including over $3.3 million of corporate stock

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Detail of Page 1 showing total asset value:

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Last Will and Testament of Kay Evans, dated March 25th, 1999, filed and probated on March 27th, 2007 with the Preston County Clerk of Courts (10 pages)

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"The Real Decoverly is Gone for ever" (sic)

2010-12-07T09:14:00.021-05:00

In this second piece for this page on this same topic (see: "Like a Hungry Tick Looking for a Dog"), again the subject is a man reported to be Dave Buehner of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, who has been posting on various internet discussion forums under the user name of "Ryman Gun Dog."

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Mr. Buehner, who claims to have a dog business called "Pine Creek Grouse Dog Trainers," was brought to our attention by friends and clients early in 2010 when ~ posting under the user name of "Ryman Gun Dog" ~ he was announcing the abandonment of DeCoverly Kennel dogs to the Bucks County, Pennsylvania SPCA.

In one of these internet forum discussions initiated by Mr. Buehner, ~ sent to us by email in nearly its entirety by a friend ~ Mr. Buehner was subsequently questioned as to any ulterior motives he might be harboring concerning the nature of the discussion he began and various postings he was making to it.

This discussion, which Mr. Buehner entitled "The Real DeCoverly is Gone for ever" (sic) was on the Shooting Sportsmen Bulletin Board, found by clicking here, (which is associated with Shooting Sportsmen magazine, online magazine version found by clicking here) and is no longer available on the internet due to the fact that Shooting Sportsmen Bulletin Board keeps their inactive discussions available for a limited time.

However, we managed to screen shot the emails ~ due to the email program, the format will be seen to differ slightly ~ however can assure our readers that these are true and un-edited versions of this particular discussion.

While we wholeheartedly endorse and mightily encourage the rescuing of all dogs from SPCA shelters, other recue organizations and any untenable situations ~ and applaud all efforts on any individual's behalf to do so ~ there is still a question in our minds by just what method Mr. Buehner came across this information in the first place concerning the abandoned DeCoverly setters.

Certainly, Mr. Buehner lives some distance from the DeCoverly Kennel facility as well as some distance from the Bucks County, Pennsylvania, SPCA (nearly clear across the state). It is unlikely that Mr. Buehner is personally acquainted with any employee of the latter facility as he exhibits subtle ingnorances about the SPCA's operation.

Mr. Buehner, in various forums, claims to be associated in some manner with a man named Bill Reid, who is a former employee of DeCoverly Kennels, however Mr. Reid was long-gone from DeCoverly Kennels before these dogs showed up at the Bucks County, Pennsylvania SPCA.

And while Mr. Buehner claims to have known Ken Alexander all of his life, Ken Alexander reportedly neither was any longer associated with DeCoverly Kennels when the dogs were abandoned to the Bucks County, Pennsylvania SPCA. Nonetheless, the following Shooting Sportsmen Bulletin Board discussion would seem to raise only further questions regarding Mr. Buehner's true motives.

Click on the thumbnails below for full versions.

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"Like a Hungry Tick Looking for a Dog ..."

2010-12-07T01:38:00.024-05:00

In the sporting world, a number of people take part in internet forums of different types. The upside of these forums is a sense of camaraderie, a chance to meet like-minded sportsmen one would have not met otherwise and an opportunity to both air one's and review others' opinions and information.
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One of the downsides of these forums is the same fact that makes them so accessible to the sporting public: that they indeed usually are open to nearly anyone in the general public who cares to participate.

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While John does not have the time to participate in or follow forums, we certainly do not condemn those who find them entertaining and informative.
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At any given time on these forums ~ to one extent or another ~ one is likely to find the occasional "internet troll" who, posting either as themselves or under an assumed "user name" (or at times, under any number of assumed identities) has ulterior motives for participation in such venues.
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The worst of these "internet trolls" are intent upon spreading around outright lies, half-truths and other misinformation in an attempt to either raise themselves in the opinions of others and/or to steer business their way for profit in a less than ethical manner.
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Nonetheless ~ as some of our clients and friends more familiar with these venues than we are have informed us and from what we recently have seen first-hand ~ the regular participants of these forums do an admirable job in both knocking down this false information as well as exposing these "internet trolls" for what they really are. Other forms of outright abuses reportedly are usually swiftly dealt with by the forum administrators and moderators.

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Some of these forums (and these particular mentions certainly are not meant to reflect on other such forums in any way) such as ~
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~~~ Gun Dog Forum, found by clicking here. >

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~~~ Shooting Sportsmen Bulletin Board, found by clicking here, which is associated with Shooting Sportsmen magazine, online magazine version found by clicking here.
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~ are reputed to to have regular forum participants who are especially vigilant to these "internet trolls."
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One of the most egregious of these "internet trolls" reported to have popped up on various hunting forums on the internet over the last year or so is a person who posts under the user name of "Ryman Gun Dog" and who signs himself off on his postings as "RGD/Dave."

He is reported to be a man by the name of Dave Buehner from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area who claims to have a "training facility" going by the name of "Pine Creek Grouse Dog Trainers" located in the northern Pennsylvania mountains.

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Mr. Buehner, after assuming the user name "Ryman Gun Dog," was brought to our attention after he was noticed by several of our friends and clients on various internet hunting forums announcing that DeCoverly Kennels had abandoned a number of their dogs to the Bucks County, Pennsylvania, SPCA at the beginning of 2010.

Although we whole-heartedly support and mightily encourage any efforts to rescue innocent animals from the SPCA, other rescue organizations or any other untenable situations, Mr. Buehner was subsequently questioned about possible ulterior motives he might be harboring in at least one of these internet hunting forums (more below).
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From reports we have received, Mr. Buehner seems to be a fairly regular participant on various internet hunting forums ~ and as well as attempting to spread more than his fair share of make believe tales and misinformation ~ promoting his dogs, his "training facility," a few of his "chosen" breeders at various times and former DeCoverly Kennels employee Bill Reid, whose exact relationship to Mr. Buehner is unclear.
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Recently, the Fetters Setters blog/web site was used as a source of valid information in a discussion on the Gun Dog Forum and Mr. Buehner felt compelled to make a series of malicious and demeaning remarks about the Fetters Setters blog/web site and John. After receiving numerous reports of this particular internet forum discussion from friends and clients, John decided it was appropriate that he personally respond to Mr. Buehner's posting.
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Upon learning that these forums have administrators and moderators who can exercise both editing and deletion powers at their own discretion ~ and that they at times may favor participants who post regularly, internet troll or no ~ we fully expected John's entire posting to be deleted.

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To our great amusement however, only one line of the entire posting was edited ~ called "the most offensive slam" by Gun Dog Forum administrator Greg Jennings.
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Thus, the title of this piece, "like a hungry tick looking for a dog ..."

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John had stated the following at the beginning of his posting:

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"Regards, RGD, Dave, Beaner, Beano or whatever name you're known by these days. I don't have time for forums. However friends and clients have sent me numerous "quotes" made by you on various forums across the internet over a period of time -- sort of puts me in the mind of a hungry tick looking for a dog ..."

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This was the phrase in the posting which Mr. Jennings, the forum administrator, felt compelled to edit. Below are screen shots of this particular Gun Dog Forum discussion with both the edited and un-edited piece. Click on the thumbnails for full-sized versions ~ or just use the link right above the thumbnails below to go to the actual discussion on the Gun Dog Forum ~ if the discussion is still active, the latter being the easier method.

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We feel however that Mr. Jennings more than made up for this arbitrary edit/deletion by then going on to endorse John's issuing of the UPDATED "Fetters Challenge" (which can be viewed by clicking here) to Mr. Buehner (as can be seen in the discussion itself). As a side note, Mr. Buehner has not responded to John's issuing of the the "Fetters Challenge" to-date, nor has Mr. Buehner to-date returned to this particular forum discussion to make any further "contributions."

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However fearing at first that John's entire posting would be deleted or the entire discussion itself deleted, a friend thoughtfully obtained screen shots for us. Explanations and commentary will appear with the thumbnails below where necessary.
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We will also be presenting here in a separate piece another forum discussion which took place earlier in the year on the Shooting Sportsmen Bulletin Board forum. This discussion has since been discontinued as we were informed the Shooting Sportsmen Bulletin Board forum saves their discussions for only a limited amount of time after the discussions are no longer active.

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However we felt this second internet forum discussion ~ started by Mr. Buehner as "Ryman Gun Dog" ~ would also be of interest to our readers who never had an opportunity to read it and to also place into better context the subject of this piece and Mr. Buehner's role as a nefarious "internet troll."
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The first discussion, "Info on setters," is still an active topic as of the date of this piece (December 7th, 2010) on the Gun Dog Forum and can currently be found by clicking here. Again, viewing the forum discussion via the link is the easier method. The screen shot of the un-edited version of John's posting can be seen by clicking on thumbnail "Page 20" below.
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