This is Chris Gainers letter accounts posted with permission.
First off, thank you for all that you do. I know that often, difficult jobs are thankless. Utah County is a great place to live and I know that is directly related to a job well done by local leaders.
I am addressing this letter to you because my, and the complaints of many people with whom I recreate addressed to Roger last name and job title (the person I have been told is in charge of Lincoln beach) have been tossed aside and ignored (More on this later).
I enjoy many of the State Parks in Utah for various types of recreation. I am a kiteboarder, a fisherman, and a scuba diver. One of the places I frequent during the summer evenings is Lincoln beach State Park. My main activity at Lincoln Beach is kiteboarding (a type of sailing which uses a kite as a sail to harness the power of the wind). I use Lincoln Beach to do this because of the safety it provides, as well as the fact that in the summer months it consistently receives wind in the evenings. It has long been hailed as the best place in Utah to kiteboard. I have been kiteboarding at Lincoln Beach for the past three years. This year my wife learned the sport and we have started bringing our 2 year old daughter with us. We take turns playing with our child in the water and beach area while the other one rides. Lincoln Beach is a place of gathering and fun for me and my family. It is also a place of gathering for many other people that participate in the sport of kiteboarding.
Earlier this summer I began witnessing dangerous and threatening behaviour exhibited by the current camp host (I believe his name is Kelly). I ignored it for longer than I should and his behavior is becoming a serious hinderance in my families enjoyment of the beach.
The camp host drinks alcoholic beverages (beer) while on the job and is often found carrying his beer can around, sipping it while having conversations. He then crosses the parking lot and throws his cans away in the dumpster. I assume it is when he is intoxicated but have no sure proof, but on many occasions I have witnessed him rampaging about, using obscene and violent language and screaming at people for things that could have more appropriately been addressed calmly, and for some unknown reason he has singled out kiteboarders to direct his anger. His threatening actions make me feel that it is unsafe to bring my family to Lincoln Beach. Though my witness of his dangerous behavior has been at least a weekly occurrence, I will here document only the times his actions have been recorded on our local communities forum (
www.utahwindriders.com)
On July 25th the camp host aggresively approached me and one of my friends and told us we were not allowed to use Lincoln Beach for kiteboarding. When we asked him why he reffered us to a sign that prohibits the use of rock walls and large inflatable toys. Our conversation with the camp host involved him using the F word multiple times.
On August 17th the camp host came to speak with me while my wife was riding. This conversation was pleasant and I wondered if our problems were over. The only reason I reference it is that as we spoke face to face I was close enough to know for certain that the beverage in his cozy was beer.
On September 6th the camp host angrily approached a group of kiters who were waiting for the wind to start and yelled the F word loudly enough that my 2 year old daughter began saying it for her first time.
On Septemner 7th the camp host again was using the F word and other profanity. He then proceeded to lock the bathrooms which caused a problem because I am trying to potty train my child.
At this point 2 of our respected kiteboarders (Chris Sherwin, and Billy Bordy) called Roger to report the behavior of the camp host. Roger responded by saying that the camp host had reported to him that kiteboarders were criminals and vandals who should be banned from using the beach and that he was considering this action. He utterly refused to believe that the camp host was at fault in any way, and said we were lying about his drinking and aggression. When this was reported to our community, many of us called Roger to report our witnesses of the camp hosts behavior. After a few of us called he told his secretary not to take our calls anymore. After this we, as a community, decided that in order to be orginized, Billy Bordy, and Chris Sherwin should be our spokesman to Roger.
Last night, the camp host bitterly approached several kiteboarders and told them they had caused a lot of problems for him and that we were not allowed to use the grass in the park.
This morning, Chris Sherwin called Roger to again report the threatening way that the camp host approached the kiteboarders and was told by Roger that kiteboarding was going to be banned from taking place at Lincoln Beach. I do not know if he has this authority, but I write this email in concern for my access to a wonderful beach that I use with my family to do something that I love.
Over the course of the summer the camp host has apparently reported to Roger that kiteboarders have been involved in a slew of illegal and dangerous activity. Not only do I doubt his claims based on being at Lincoln Beach for a substantial amount of time this summer and not witnessing anything other than recreation, and also because peoples judgement tends to be a little off when they are intoxicated. If his claims have merit, I wonder why they have not been reported to anyone involved in such claims. I don't know exactly what his claims were, but when we spoke to Roger we were treated like criminals.
I am the owner of a local business, and until we had a child my wife taught middle school. I am an upstanding citizen and a respected member of my community. To think of losing access to Lincoln Beach hurts my heart, especially when I have done nothing wrong. If there have been rules broken by kiteboarders (which I am sure are nothing in comparison to being drunk and aggressive while representing the State), they should be dealt with on an individual basis instead of punishing a whole crowd, but as far as I can tell, most of what is happening is based on selective prejudice and discrimination which has lead to severe abuse of authority.
When I now go to Lincoln beach I am in fear for my safety and the safety of my family. Though to my knowledge, nobody has been physically abused by the camp host at this point, everything about his behavior leads me to believe that this is not far off.
My main concern is the safety of my family. Other than kiteboarding, my family also uses Lincoln Beach to swim and to fish. I am concerned not only because of my witness of the camp hosts behavior, but also because when we reported his behavior to his superior we were treated like liars and his actions, though our accounts were many, were doubted and likely ignored. Many kiteboarders were also denied the chance to report our experiences because Roger received more calls than he wanted to deal with. I do not know why Roger believes in the innocence of his camp host even though over 50 people would be willing to swear to the drunken and violent behavior that has been witnessed, but that is beside the point.
I have been told that Billy Bordy spoke to your secretary and that you will be speaking with him shortly, but I wanted to add my voice to his and express my concern with the situation that is at hand.
Thank you again for all that you do. I know that you are busy, and I am sorry I had to use so much of your time reading my wordy account, but I am grateful to live in a place where my voice counts and is heard.