John, maybe your absence from the site for the last several years has meant you’re not necessarily up on what’s going on there these days?

Linda is no longer on the board.  And Luke…well, there is not a single board member that has put in the “calories” that Luke has since he joined.  Luke has spent thousands of his own dollars and many hundreds of hours of his time making the landing field what it is today.  No one mows the grass half as often as Luke does.  In fact the only other two people that have mowed the grass in the last several years are Owen and myself and I’ve only done it maybe three times.  Luke drives two hours each way, nearly every weekend and often times during the week to mow, to fertilize, to meet the gopher exterminator, to fix Gracie and both lawn mowers (one of which he bought and paid for himself), to troubleshoot sprinkler issues, to work the internet for the sprinkler controller and future security cameras, etc., etc.  I’m sure there are many other things that I’m forgetting.  Oh and, once in a while, he gets to actually gets to fly.

Sorry, but I take serious offense to you suggesting that we should “put him down” for MORE calories.  Shame on you.

Unfortunately, it’s not the club’s pond.  The Cross Country Ranch used to be open to pilots and families – but never to the general public.  Due to an inability to get insurance, it is now closed except for specific supervised events that are announced in advance to the club.

Using the road up for hike and fly is fine.   The liability concerns are fairly specific to the pond though.  So, they have asked that no one use the pond except again, for specific supervised events.

Message me if you haven’t found anything yet Jeff.  We are sending a couple of gliders with JD (from Arizona).  He has room for another.  But, he’s going a bit early and leaving Florida a bit late.

I tend to agree with Gene that these videos don’t exactly relate to the current issue.  But, I do understand why Jana has posted them – to answer the complaints about the lack of rides to the 750 and Regionals launches and to argue against Gene’s (Dennis’) claim that his contributions have “enhanced the safety and enjoyment of AJX.”

Anyway, Gene, great job finding a very well-spoken PR person.  Dennis, you do a fantastic job of spinning this situation and making Gene look like a saint.  Like you, I haven’t been around AJX very long really.  However, I have personally witnessed many aggressive run-in’s with Gene in the 4 short years or so that I’ve been here.   You would be wise to pay attention to those who have been here much longer than us, those who have witnessed Gene’s abusive behavior over the many years that he has been here.  This decades long pattern of behavior is well known amongst long time club members and they have tiptoed around Gene or given him a very wide berth for years.

His contributions to the site – countless hours on Gracie maintaining the roads, rides up to the 750 and Regionals and his “watchdog” services when he lived on property, keeping the site protected from vandals, etc.  are MANY.  But, they are outweighed only by his continuous abusive and threatening behavior toward club members, visitors and the general public as well as his illegal activity on the property that has put the very existence of the club in real jeopardy.  Most members have no idea of the circumstances surrounding certain actions Gene has taken that, to this day, leave the club exposed to an imminent risk of loss of our lease!

Make no mistake, this suspension has not put a dent in Gene’s business.  The Board specifically explained to Gene exactly where he could park and pick up pilots so that his business would NOT be affected.  Gene’s claim of a financial hardship being created by the suspension is unsupported.  Gene is able to park his Ranger approximately 230 feet from where he used to park in the LZ.  Gene’s customers are not finding rides elsewhere – there are no other options – Gene has made sure of that by threatening Sandy to the point that she has decommissioned her Ranger and will no longer take pilots up the front road.

If pilots are annoyed by having to walk 230 feet, paragliding might not be the sport for them.  In any event, they can thank Gene for the minimal bit of exercise they get walking for less than two minutes to get in his Ranger.

It seems that sensible people are reading this forum and seeing Jana’s posts explaining all that has gone on here.  Those people then step away from the public discussion and are offering support privately.  Club members are afraid of Gene and many of us are concerned about what he is capable of.  I have personally witnessed so many threats on his part – threats of violence that frankly terrify me.  Members understandably refuse to get publicly involved for fear of Gene’s wrath.

If you would like any additional information or details on this situation, I can be reached off line to discuss this further.  Please send me a private message  to secretary@crestlinesoaring.org and I will provide my phone number.

Well put Dan!  Thank you!

Actually, the person who did this has told several people that he did it and provided an explanation as to why he did it.  This isn’t a blind accusation.

Awesome!  So glad to find a Lubin.  I had one for years and then got rid of it when they “outlawed” them at Cat 1 competitions.  But, it has always been my favorite helmet, despite the fact that they offer little actual protection 😂