Report: Ark Encounter Cheating On Property Taxes, Hurting Local Schools

August 28, 2019 By Michael Stone

Dishonest Christians: According to new reports Ken Ham’s conservative Christian theme park Ark Encounter is failing to pay their fair share of property taxes, and hurting public schools in the process.

A new lawsuit filed by the Grant County Board of Education in Kentucky claims that Ham’s Ark Encounter has been cheating on their property taxes by undervaluing the anti-science, Bible based, creationist theme park.

The Louisville Courier Journal reports:

The Grant County Board of Education has sued Ark Encounter and the county’s property valuation administrator for undervaluing the life-size replica of Noah’s Ark in Northern Kentucky.

This undervalued property has allowed Ark Encounter to underpay taxes owed to the board, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in the Grant Circuit Court on July 1.

Reporting on the story, WCPO Cincinnati notes:

The school board alleges that Ark Encounter has been undervalued by county officials and filed a lawsuit against losing an administrative appeal.

In the suit, filed in July, the school board said Ark Encounter is worth up to $130 million, but the county’s property valuation administrator assessed the park’s worth at $48 million. County schools are funded by property taxes.

USA Today explains:

Ark Encounter paid the board $275,911.47 for the 2017 tax year. But if the property had been valued higher, the board said that it would have gotten approximately $746,200 from Ark Encounter.

In other words, by being dishonest, Ark Encounter is costing local schools close to half a million dollars a year.

However, dishonesty is the raison d’etre for the creationist theme park

Ham’s Ark Encounter is a Christian fundamentalist project based on discredited science and a literal interpretation of Genesis. The life-size version of Noah’s Ark located in Williamstown, just south of Cincinnati, Ohio, is an exercise in Christian propaganda: a deplorable attempt to deceive children and others by denying the scientific reality of biological evolution and promoting Christian mythology as scientific fact.

Ark Encounter is dedicated to indoctrinating children with ridiculous and discredited claims from the dubious field of “creation science,” claims such as the earth is only 6,000-years-old, that human beings and dinosaurs lived on the earth at the same time, and that the story of Noah’s Ark is true.

The truth is that there is no scientific controversy concerning evolution. The assumption that creationism, or intelligent design, constitutes a legitimate scientific alternative to the theory of evolution, is simply false.

Simply put, creationism is not a legitimate scientific alternative to the theory of evolution. And preventing children from learning the truth about the world, like teaching children that creationism is an acceptable scientific explanation for the diversity of life on Earth, or that humans and dinosaurs existed on earth at the same time, is a form of child abuse.

Bottom line: Ken Ham’s conservative Christian theme park Ark Encounter is failing to pay their fair share of property taxes, and hurting public schools in the process.

Report: Ark Encounter Cheating On Property Taxes, Hurting Local Schools (Image via YouTube)

Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter Files $1 Million Lawsuit For ‘Rain Damage’

May 24, 2019 By Michael Stone

Thoughts and Prayers: Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter has filed a one million dollar lawsuit against its insurers for rain damage.

The Courier Journal reports:

The owner of the life-size replica of Noah’s Ark in Northern Kentucky has sued its insurers for refusing to cover, of all things … rain damage.

Ark Encounter, which unveiled the 510-foot-long model in 2016, says that heavy rains in 2017 and 2018 caused a landslide on its access road, and its five insurance carriers refused to cover nearly $1 million in damages.

In a 77-page lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Ark Encounter asks for compensatory and punitive damages.

According to the report, the Ark itself was not damaged during the heavy rains, but a major access road was damaged.

Lexington’s NBC affiliate reports:

Engineers fixed the roadway at a cost of about $1 million. But when the Ark Encounter asked for their insurance to cover the repairs, they were disappointed.

Initially, the suit alleges, the defendants cited faulty craftsmanship as the reason for the property damage and stated they were not liable. After an appeal, they conceded that only a small amount was covered by the policy.

“By refusing to pay all but a very small proportion of Plaintiffs’ covered claim, the Defendants have failed to meet their Policy obligations and failed to handle Plaintiffs’ claim properly and in good faith, causing Plaintiffs to incur significant additional loss and expense,” reads the suit.

Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter is a Christian fundamentalist project based on discredited science and a literal interpretation of Genesis. The life-size version of Noah’s Ark located in Williamstown, Ky., just south of Cincinnati, Ohio, is an exercise in Christian propaganda: a deplorable attempt to deceive children and others by denying the scientific reality of biological evolution and promoting Christian mythology as scientific fact.

Ark Encounter is dedicated to indoctrinating children with ridiculous and discredited claims from the dubious field of “creation science,” claims such as the earth is only 6,000-years-old, that human beings and dinosaurs lived on the earth at the same time, and that the story of Noah’s Ark is true.

Bottom line: In an ironic twist of fate, Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter has filed a one million dollar lawsuit against its insurers for rain damage.

Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter Files $1 Million Lawsuit For ‘Rain Damage’ (Image via YouTube)

Ark Encounter Loses Battle With City, Will Now Pay Fees

July 26, 2017 By Michael Stone

Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter has lost their battle with the city of Williamstown, and has agreed to pay safety fees to fund emergency services for the city.

Previously, Ham’s Ark Encounter had tried to dodge paying the 50-cent per ticket safety fee by selling Ark Encounter to itself for $10 to cheat the city out of the much needed revenue.

In a deplorable move, Ham’s Biblical theme park played a financial shell game with the city of Williamstown in order to avoid paying the safety fee that would fund necessary emergency services for the city.

However, the dirty financial maneuver failed after the state of Kentucky suspended an incentive agreement with the park worth up to $18 million. As a result, Ham and his cronies resold the park back to themselves, in the hopes of keeping their millions in subsidies from the state.

Feeling persecuted, a beleaguered Ken Ham complained about being forced to pay the safety fee. In a statement Ham said:

Now, we do believe there were, and still are, some issues with the way the ordinance is worded, and we do have concerns about the fairness of such a tax. The city ordinance makes the Ark Encounter bear almost the entire load for the increased funding for Williamstown’s police, fire and EMS budget.

Williamstown Mayor Rick Skinner said he was pleased with the decision, and said he is glad that the city and Ark Encounter were able to reach an agreement and avoid a potential lawsuit. Skinner said:

I’m glad we could reach an agreement that benefits both the city and the Ark, and I think the safety assessment fee will do that. Both the Ark and the city are going to be around for a long time, so it’s important for us to find common ground on issues affecting the people of Williamstown.

Last month, a bitter Ken Ham blamed atheists and the secular media for the perceived financial failure of his Ark Park. In a blog post to his Answers in Genesis website, Ham refused to take responsibility for his own failure, and refused to take responsibility for his broken financial promises to the citizens and business community of Williamstown and Grant County, Kentucky.

Bottom line: Ken Ham tried desperately to avoid paying a modest safety fee to help fund necessary emergency services for the city of Williamstown, and failed.

Ken Ham's Ark Encounter Loses Battle With City (Image via YouTube) — Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter Loses Battle With City (Image via YouTube)

Kentucky: Ark Encounter In Breach Of Tax Incentive Agreement

July 21, 2017 By Michael Stone

Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter stands to lose millions in state subsidies after the state of Kentucky finds the Christian theme park in violation of their tax incentive agreement.

The notification comes after Ham’s Ark Park played dirty to avoid paying taxes, essentially selling Ark Encounter to itself for $10 to cheat the city and county out of tax revenue.

However, it appears that the underhanded maneuver is set to fail in spectacular fashion, and the Ark Encounter will lose up to $18 million in state subsidies.

The Lexington Herald Leader reports:

The Kentucky Tourism Arts and Heritage Cabinet has suspended an incentive agreement worth up to $18 million with a Noah’s Ark-themed amusement in Grant County because the park transferred its main property to a non-profit affiliate.

In a news release, the Freedom From Religion Foundation describes the situation:

The Kentucky Tourism, Arts, and Heritage Cabinet notified the operators of the Ark Encounter that it is in breach of its Tourism Development Agreement with the state. That agreement provides up to $18 million in state subsidies for the Ark project in the form of annual sales tax rebates. FFRF obtained records from the Cabinet today that include a July 18 notice sent to the operators of the Ark saying that Ark Encounter, LLC has breached the agreement following the sale of the property. The letter says that no further tax rebates may accrue as of June 28.

In other words, Ark Encounter received very generous, very questionable tax subsidies from the state of Kentucky as a for-profit business. However, recently Ken Ham and his cronies sold Ark Encounter to themselves for $10 so they could reclassify the park as a non-profit religious organization in order to avoid paying new taxes that would fund necessary emergency services for the area. By doing so, it looks like the park will lose millions in previously promises state subsidies.

The once positive relationship between government officials and Ark Park officials recently soured after financial promises made by Ken Ham and his organization to the city and county failed to materialize.

Bottom line: By changing their tax status from a for-profit business to a non-profit religious organization, it looks like Ark Encounter will lose up to $18 million in state subsidies. And that’s a good thing.

Kentucky: Ark Encounter In Breach Of Tax Incentive Agreement (Image via Wikimedia)

Ham’s Ark Encounter Exhibit Features Giants Fighting Dinosaurs

February 18, 2017 By Michael Stone

Teaching children that dinosaurs and humans co-existed, Ken Ham’s Creationist theme park will feature a diorama with gladiator-style fights involving humans, giants, and a dinosaur.

Ham tweeted an image of the new diorama in to be featured Kentucky’s “Ark Encounter” theme park earlier this week:

Exquisite design by @ArkEncounter artists for new Diorama depicting wicked population in the pre-Flood world to be installed @ArkEncounter pic.twitter.com/4JHQiTEWbG

— Ken Ham (@aigkenham) February 16, 2017

Exquisite design by @ArkEncounter artists for new Diorama depicting wicked population in the pre-Flood world to be installed @ArkEncounter

Ham is a dangerous idiot. Teaching children creationism, and that dinosaurs and humans co-existed, constitutes intellectual child abuse.

Ham’s Ark Encounter is a Christian fundamentalist project based on discredited science and a literal interpretation of Genesis. The life-size version of Noah’s Ark located in Williamstown, Ky., just south of Cincinnati, Ohio, is an exercise in Christian propaganda: a deplorable attempt to deceive children and others by denying the scientific reality of biological evolution and promoting Christian mythology as scientific fact.

Bottom line: Gladiator-style fights involving humans, giants, and a dinosaur are the stuff of fantasy, not science. By trying to teach children that creationism is a legitimate scientific theory Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter is engaged in a despicable form of intellectual child abuse.

Ham’s Ark Encounter Exhibit Features Giants Fighting Dinosaurs (Image via Twitter)

Bill Nye: Ark Encounter Is Brainwashing Kids

July 19, 2016 By Michael Stone

Bill Nye gives Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter a failing grade.

Bill Nye “the Science Guy” worries kids are being brainwashed at Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter. Nye recently paid a visit to Ken Ham’s life-size version of Noah’s Ark. He was not pleased.

The replica of what is supposed to be Noah’s Ark is located at the Ark Encounter theme park in Williamstown, Kentucky. Nye was an invited guest at the Ark Encounter, which opened July 7 and is billed as the largest timber-frame structure in the world, at 51 feet tall and 1-1/2 football fields in length.

After the visit Nye expressed his frustration with the Christian fundamentalist project based on discredited science and a literal interpretation of Genesis. Noting that the Ark was an eye-catching attraction that was “much more troubling or disturbing than I thought it would be,” Nye told NBC News:

It’s all very troubling. You have hundreds of school kids there who have already been indoctrinated and who have been brainwashed.

Nye lamented:

On the third deck (of the ark), every single science exhibit is absolutely wrong. Not just misleading, but wrong.

Nye is right to be disturbed. Children are being brainwashed and indoctrinated. By teaching children creationism as a legitimate scientific theory that disproves the theory of evolution, Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter is engaging in a form of intellectual child abuse.

As one might expect, Nye was particularly peeved with an exhibit showing dinosaurs living alongside mankind. Indeed, the idea that dinosaurs, which became extinct roughly 65 million years ago, lived contemporaneously with humans, who didn’t appear on Earth until 50,000 to 100,000 years ago, is absurd.

Nye was also disappointed that organisers “promote so very strongly that climate change is not a serious problem, that humans are not causing it, that some deity will see to it that everything is O.K.”

However, Nye made it clear that he was only concerned with scientific accuracy, and was not opposed to religious belief:

I’m not busting anyone’s chops about a religion. This is about the absolutely wrong idea that the Earth is 6,000 years old that’s alarming to me.

Bottom line: Teaching children the earth is only 6,000-years-old, that human beings and dinosaurs lived on the earth at the same time, and that the story of Noah’s Ark is true, is a form of child abuse.

Science is the key to our future, and if you don’t believe in science, then you’re holding everybody back. And it’s fine if you as an adult want to run around pretending or claiming that you don’t believe in evolution, but if we educate a generation of people who don’t believe in science, that’s a recipe for disaster. We talk about the Internet. That comes from science. Weather forecasting. That comes from science. The main idea in all of biology is evolution. To not teach it to our young people is wrong.

― Bill Nye

Watch: Bill Nye debunks the Bible’s mythical story of Noah’s Ark during a debate with Creationist Ken Ham at the Creation Museum in Kentucky:

Bill Nye is a popular science educator and the author of Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation.

Watch: Atheist Humiliates Creationist At Ark Encounter Protest

July 7, 2016 By Michael Stone

Atheist Aron Ra schools leading creationist Eric Hovind at a protest outside Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter.

A video posted by Friendly Atheist and reported on by Raw Story shows creationist Eric Hovind getting into a debate about evolution with atheist Aron Ra.

At one point in the heated exchange Hovind asks Ra:

Do you believe we came from an ape-like ancestor?

An obviously annoyed Ra replied:

Yes. Apes don’t have tails — learn taxonomy! So yes, you are an ape, by definition.

However, Ra’s remarks apparently sailed over the head of the uninformed Hovind, who goes on to accuse Ra of making an ad hominem attack, failing to understand that human beings are considered apes from a scientific standpoint.

The conversation degenerates even further as Hovind’s companion then accuses Ra of sounding like Adolf Hitler, which is, as Raw Story notes, a surefire way to signal that you’ve lost an argument.

This is not the first time Hovind has embarrassed himself in public. Last year the leading creationist defended child molester Josh Duggar by arguing that if evolution is true, it wasn’t wrong for Josh Duggar to sexually assault little girls, “because what one evolved bag of molecules does to another bag of molecules just doesn’t really matter.”

As for Aron Ra, he is the Texas state-director of the American Atheists, co-host of the Ra-Men Podcast, a public speaker, a video producer, and a blogger at Patheos.

Watch the exchange between Ra and Hovind below:

Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter Is Child Abuse

July 6, 2016 By Michael Stone

Convincing children creationism is true constitutes intellectual child abuse.

Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter is a Christian fundamentalist project based on discredited science and a literal interpretation of Genesis.

The The life-size version of Noah’s Ark is located in Williamstown, Ky., just south of Cincinnati, Ohio, and is designed to be an exercise in Christian propaganda: a deplorable attempt to deceive children and others by denying the scientific reality of biological evolution and promoting Christian mythology as scientific fact.

The 500-foot-long, $100 million ark opens to the public on Thursday.

For more see: Ken Ham’s Reconstruction of Noah’s Ark Demonstrates Absurdity of Creationism

Bottom line: By teaching children creationism is a legitimate scientific theory that disproves the theory of evolution, Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter is engaged in a despicable form of intellectual child abuse.

Watch as leading scientist Lawrence Krauss gives a powerful and well reasoned argument for why teaching children creationism is a form of child abuse:

Creationist Ken Ham Blames Atheists For Reports That Ark Park Is Failing

August 6, 2018 By Michael Stone

Sad monkey: Creationist Ken Ham blames atheists and the secular media for reports on the extremely low attendance numbers at his Ark Encounter theme park.

Recent reports indicate that Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter, the life-sized Noah’s Ark attraction near Northern Kentucky, is failing because attendance numbers show that park attendance is way below what was expected.

The Louisville Courier Journal reports:

The Ark Encounter sold a little more than 860,000 tickets between July 2017 and June 2018, according to open records obtained by The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes the separation of church and state.

When the park opened in 2016, park officials anticipated 1.4 million to 2.4 million yearly visitors.

Media reports that the park’s attendance numbers are way below what was expected sent Ham into an angry Twitter rant where he blamed atheists and the secular media for reporting on the dismal attendance records:

Another record broken @ArkEncounter as 8500+ poured in Sat as numbers continue to climb despite Fake News from atheists & secular media & @courierjournal @heraldleader @Enquirer & irresponsible journalism @FortuneMagazine – journalists are clueless & seem to hate the Ark success pic.twitter.com/pBEtgS83Gm

— Ken Ham (@aigkenham) August 5, 2018

Another record broken @ArkEncounter as 8500+ poured in Sat as numbers continue to climb despite Fake News from atheists & secular media & @courierjournal @heraldleader @Enquirer & irresponsible journalism @FortuneMagazine – journalists are clueless & seem to hate the Ark success

Note: Ham is calling the real attendance numbers submitted by Ark Encounter and obtained by The Freedom From Religion Foundation via an open records request “Fake News,” a tactic often deployed by Trump, who regularly labels legitimate news that makes him look bad “Fake News.”

However, the fact that Ham is being deceitful and deceptive should come as no surprise. His entire career as a Christian Creationist is built upon deception and willful ignorance.

Indeed, Ham’s Ark Encounter is a Christian fundamentalist project based on discredited science and a literal interpretation of Genesis. The Bible-based theme park is designed to be an exercise in Christian propaganda: a deplorable attempt to deceive children and others by denying the scientific reality of biological evolution and promoting Christian mythology as scientific fact.

In essence, the conservative Christian theme park is dedicated to indoctrinating children with ridiculous and discredited claims from the dubious field of “creation science,” claims such as the earth is only 6,000-years-old, that human beings and dinosaurs lived on the earth at the same time, and that the story of Noah’s Ark is true.

Blaming atheist and the secular media for his failure is nothing new. Last year Ham made a similar claim after reports circulated that Ark Encounter was experiencing a severe financial crisis.

Bottom line: Attendance numbers show that Ken Ham’s Ark Park is failing, and an angry Ken Ham is blaming atheists and the secular media for the story.

Ken Ham Blames Atheists For Ark Park Failure (Image via YouTube)

To Avoid Taxes Creationists Sell Ark Park To Themselves For $10

July 17, 2017 By Michael Stone

Ken Ham’s Ark Park plays dirty to avoid paying taxes, essentially selling Ark Encounter to itself for $10 to cheat the city out of tax revenue.

In a deplorable move, Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter Biblical theme park is playing a financial shell game with the city of Williamstown in order to avoid paying a safety fee that would fund necessary emergency services for the city.

The Lexington Herald Leader reports:

On June 29, Williamstown City Attorney Jeffrey Shipp sent a letter to the Biblical amusement park Ark Encounter, rejecting their request to be exempted from a new safety tax because they are a religious organization.

Shipp said it was clear that Ark Encounter is a for-profit entity, which is how it has been listed with the Secretary of State’s office since 2011.

But the day before, Ark Encounter LLC sold its main parcel of land — the one with the life-size Noah’s Ark — for $10 to their non-profit affiliate, Crosswater Canyon. Although the property is worth $48 million according to the Grant County Property Valuation Administrator, the deed says its value is only $18.5 million.

The Lexington Herald Leader continues:

… some are worried Ark Encounter’s maneuver is a precursor to declaring itself exempt from all taxes, including property taxes that help fund Grant County schools.

In other words, Ken Ham and his cronies sold Ark Encounter back to themselves for $10 in order to avoid paying taxes; because, as a result of the sale, they could reclassify the park as a religious organization.

Previously the park has been classified as a for-profit organization, and received numerous and lucrative tax breaks as a for-profit organization. By attempting the reclassification, the Ark Park officials hope to have the best of both worlds, enjoying the tax breaks given to the organization as a for-profit organization, and now trying to claim tax-exemption as a religious organization.

Commenting on the nefarious machinations of the Ark Encounter organization, Williamstown City Councilperson Kim Crupper said:

I believe this is the first step. The impact would be far larger than just Williamstown.

The once hopeful and favorable relationship between the locals and Ark Park officials recently soured after financial promises made by Ken Ham and his organization to the city and county failed to materialize.

Williamstown Mayor Rick Skinner said losing the expected property tax revenue would hurt the city, county, and most of all, schools, noting:

It would be a huge hit to the schools.

The Lexington Herald Leader reports city officials believe a lawsuit is “imminent”:

The council is scheduled to meet Tuesday night with Ark officials to continue talking about their differences, but Crupper and Mayor Rick Skinner said they think a lawsuit is imminent.

Bottom line: Ken Ham’s Ark Park is playing dirty to avoid paying taxes; and, as one might expect, it is the citizens of the city of Williamstown and Grant County that will suffer.

Ken Ham - Tax Cheat (Image via YouTube) — Ken Ham – Ark Park Tax Cheat (Image via YouTube)