It's part science center, part campground, part four-wheeler park, part evangelical church. You enter at your own risk because there's no liability insurance. Everyone is welcome, and admission is free. They do Baptisms in the pond. Welcome To Dinosaur Adventure Land, the pseudo-theme park in Conecuh County, discussed by Reckon’s Anna Claire Vollers in this rollicking profile of the park’s founder, Pastor Kent Hovind. The 65-year-old Baptist preacher and YouTube star is new to Alabama. Hovind has more than 100,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel, where he posts his sermons, seminars and Bible studies. Many of his videos have tens of thousands of views; some top 200,000. He'll tell you, more than once, that he spent 15 years teaching high school math and science. So how did he wind up with a park in Lenox, Alabama, population 37? Hold onto your butts. In 2006, Hovind was arrested and convicted on more than 50 federal tax fraud charges relating to structuring financial transactions to avoid reporting laws, and for failing to collect employee taxes. He spent nine years in prison. But life, uh, finds a way. Shortly after he got out, he found his opportunity to start over, just 80 miles north in Alabama. In 2016, a supporter donated a 140-acre parcel of land in Conecuh County to Hovind's newly-created 501c3, Creation Science Evangelism Ministries Inc. Read the rest of Anna Claire’s profile here. You’ll be very glad you did. |
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