Brothers In Unity - Hardly

Now The Two Brothers Do Not Get Along - At All

(CBS)  Sometimes it's a challenge for family members to work together. Correspondent Peter Van Sant reports from a town with a name that's a misnomer. Unity, Maine, is suffering from a bit of friction created by two brothers that don't get along.

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Unity, Maine, is the kind of town where the cows outnumber the people. And there's nothing to disturb the peace and quiet.

Except for Jeff Kirk.

"---- you, you scumbag," he screams at his brother Tracy. "Scumbag, you're not supposed to be on this property....You're going to jail again tonight..."

They are both Maine loggers, who cut down trees to make paper.

"Pretty much this job just affords you the luxury of not being bothered much," says Jeff Kirk. "Unless you have a bothersome brother like I do."

The two brothers brought discord and disunity to Unity.

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"It's almost like it would be easier if it was back in the old West, and you could just shoot it out and be done with it," says Tracy Kirk.

As kids and as adults, the Kirk brothers used to be inseparable. "There wasn't anything I wouldn't do for him in those days, you know," declares Jeff Kirk.

But after 20 years of living and working together, they started squabbling over who contributed more.

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"He really didn't want to get his hands greasy is about the amount f it," asserts Tracy Kirk.

"Basically, he's like my mother: lazy," says Jeff Kirk.

So Tracy Kirk moved out, left the family business and married, leaving his brother Jeff all alone.

"Once he got hooked up with that woman, forget it," says Jeff Kirk. "He turned all ignorant after that."

And it all might have ended there. But a few months after their split, Tracy Kirk made a demand.

According to Jeff Kirk, he came to the wood lot and said, "I'm taking that machine."

Tracy Kirk wanted the skidder, a machine for hauling trees out of the woods.

Jeff and Tracy Kirk had purchased their skidder together. But since their split, neither brother was willing to share.

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Tracy Kirk, above, and his brother Jeff bought a skidder together. That skidder is now at the heart of their problems.

"I dragged him on my coattails for 20 years and that's it," says Jeff Kirk. "I'm not doing it any longer."

And it touched off a full-fledged family feud.

Tracy Kirk shot a video of the last time he and Jeff ran into each other. And the audio, he says, shows his brother's true feelings.

It's too dark to see much, but you can hear plenty.

"He's almost frothing at the mouth. He's spitting the words out right there. And that's what I have to deal with every time I deal with that person," says Mark Nickerson, a Maine state trooper who had been given the charge of patrolling 14 towns.

Nickerson spent much of his time dealing with the Kirk brothers.

When asked if he likes Nickerson, Tracy Kirk supplies a frank "not really."

Both Kirks have accused Nickerson of taking the other brother's side.

"Jeff, have a nice day," says Nickerson, who drives by Jeff Kirk's house rather quickly.

"You have a nice life," replies Jeff Kirk. "Try not to kill someone before the day is out!"

The diatribe continued. "That right there is the crookedest state policeman you'll ever see - that I've run into. Maybe there are crookeder," says Jeff Kirk. "But you're a crook, Mark Nickerson!"

There is one thing the Kirk brothers agree on: They hate Nickerson.

"I brought them together," Nickerson jokes.

Nothing would really bring Jeff and Tracy Kirk together until they reached some sort of compromise on the skidder. After months of insults, hate and loathing, the Kirk brothers couldn't reach a settlement in their civil war. So they decided to do battle in court.

But before the battle began, Jeff Kirk seemed to have a change of heart. "I'd just as soon sign a deal to pay hihis share," he says.

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His lawyer brought Tracy Kirk into a locked office in an attempt to strike a last-minute deal.

They arrived a half an hour late to court, but with good news. There's an agreement. Jeff Kirk keeps the skidder.

"So, Mr. Kirk, you'll pay $300 a month starting November 1st. Is that correct?" says the judge.

Tracy Kirk gets monthly payments.

"OK, I want to thank both of you for resolving this," says the judge. "I hope things work out for both of you."

With that, the Kirk brothers' business dispute is finally settled. But their family feud is another matter.

"He hasn't treated me like a brother," charges Tracy Kirk.

"Have a nice life," says Jeff Kirk.

"Typical statement," replies Tracy Kirk.

Needless to say, it's not what you'd call a happy ending.

Says Jeff Kirk: "As far as I'm concerned the rest of his life is a waste of my time to deal with."

But it's an ending that might finally bring a little peace in Unity.

"It's really done?" asks Trooper Nickerson.

It appears to be, at least for now.

"The first time the payment is one day late, we'll be getting a phone call," jokes Nickerson.

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