Sandcastle Seen as Beach 'Hazard'
Barrington Recreation Director John Taylor believes he was correct in asking that a sandcastle on the beach be torn down.
“I’m responsible for what happens on the beach,” said Barrington Recreation Director John Taylor. “It’s my job to protect against someone getting hurt.”
Taylor was reacting Tuesday to a Barrington father’s response to the recreation director’s request to knock down a sandcastle built on Barrington Beach by his daughter last weekend. The story aired first on WJAR-TV. It was picked up by the Providence Journal and the Barrington Times, among other media outlets.
Taylor said the sandcastle – not prohibited on the beach – simply “was so big and so tall and had boards sticking out of it.” He estimated that it was about 2.5-feet high and up to 4 feet long.
The boards, reportedly with nails in them, made it a liability, Taylor said. But he probably would have asked the father to tear it down because of its size even without the boards.
“I asked nicely for him to take it down. He said he wouldn’t do it – not in front of his daughter. He said I could do it later."
“Maybe it was a matter of interpretation,” Taylor said. “I saw it as a hazard; he didn’t. I’m conscious of how accidents happen. I haven’t had any accidents.”
Taylor also sees the media reaction to his request to tear down the sandcastle “as overblown.”
“It’s the first time I’ve done that,” he said of asking that a sandcastle be torn down. "I had somebody call me and say I was the biggest jerk in Rhode Island."
Taylor repeated that Barrington does not prohibit building sandcastles on the beach. And there are no guidelines.
Gary Morse
6:23 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
"The boards, reportedly with nails in them, made it a liability..."
In the Times article, Mr Taylor described this as "a piece of driftwood with nails".
Mr Taylor should know that it is his job to inspect the beach for "boards with nails in them" before people arrive.
Townie
6:43 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Good job Grinch. Evidently the father and child missed the "no fun allowed" sign. Only in Barrington!
RI Politics
6:58 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
I agree with Mr Taylor except he should have asked them to knock it down before leaving and let them play more. This father seems like a waa waa for handling it this way. Entitled mentality. Snob.
ed
6:02 pm on Thursday, June 14, 2012
its a freaking sandcastle you loser
GretchP
10:34 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
I don't get it. How does the dad have an entitled mentality? He is entitled to play with his daughter and not be harassed. How is a dad playing on a public beach, building a sand castle with driftwood a snob? Sounds like they both got heated and neither handled the situation as they could have but, REALLY - dad was at the beach with his daughter, BRAVO. Let them PLAY.
Shades of Gray
2:08 pm on Saturday, June 16, 2012
Please see my comment further down and you will understand the "entitled mentality". He was disrespectful to Mr. Taylor. He only asked him to take it down.
In the moment
7:30 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
John Taylor is a great guy, and has done more for this town than anyone realizes. If he or any other town employee saw something at the beach or anywhere else on town property that would be a potential hazard to anyone, they would be prudent in removing the hazard. Also, the town's approach to the beach is undergoing a transition right now - no one's really paid attention to it for years, and now the department that John's in charge of is trying to make it more attractive to people to use. The actual "town monitored" space (the lifeguarded zone) isn't that big and a largish sand castle could be a hazard for a number of reasons. Situations like this may have been under the radar before now. Now that someone's watching, suddenly there's a villain. No one thinks of the liability angle until something happens. Be grateful John and his crew are watching out for everyone's benefit.
Scott Clark
12:21 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Wish there was a picture of the castle :)
It's easy to take sides in this debate unfortunately. Mr Taylor was doing his job (keeping a public space safe) as was the father (doing something really cool and inspiring for his kids). Not being there, it's hard to say how much personality played a part in the exchange.
I will say it's not really all that obvious what IS considered safe or not at the beach, which of course makes it hard for both patrons and enforcers to know the boundaries.
native
12:15 pm on Thursday, June 14, 2012
John please retire soon.
ed
6:03 pm on Thursday, June 14, 2012
amen brotha
annonymous
2:19 pm on Thursday, June 14, 2012
Just another high paying position in the town of barrington.And nothing else to do
Joel Hellmann
10:57 am on Sunday, June 17, 2012
Like him or Hate him, The recreation director for years is the most underpaid position in town. 10 years ago I did as a favor to mike Raffa on my own time what recreation directors get paid across the state. Barrington's was by far the lowest paid. Sometimes by 75%!. The position has had many raises and now he is getting about 50% of the rest of the state. Annonymous get your facts straight if you want to write!
David
2:43 pm on Thursday, June 14, 2012
High paying? Not really. The position is parttime with no benefits and John does fulltime work. Look the incident is unfortunate and could have been handled better by both sides. The way this guy fires off this letter seems awfully arrogant.
Shades of Gray
2:02 pm on Saturday, June 16, 2012
The Father should have done as he was asked and set an example for his daughter about respecting authority. Instead he said he would not take it down in front of her, but gave the Mr. Taylor permission to take it down himself after they left. Who does he think he is? Someone that doesn't have to obey authorities, I guess.
annonymous
6:30 pm on Monday, June 18, 2012
Mr Hellman if what you said is right,then sorry,but its a castle that beach is dreadful worry about that PLEASE
Joel Hellmann
7:12 pm on Monday, June 18, 2012
Annonymous- I wasn't there so I don't know the details, but I have to agree with you on the face of it. It does seems like a bit much to do under the circumstances. But no one works more for less money the Barrington's rec director. Barrington has one very part time director. When I checked, Bristol has 2 full and 2 Part time people who did the same job. They got more done and their program is more extensive, But John has tried to make it so. I don't always agree with him, but he is certainly not over paid. and puts in many many extra hours.
Shades of Gray
8:05 am on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Weeks have gone by, but what has happened over that time is disgusting to me. I don't know either of the parties involved, but the fact is, mr. Taylor made what the Father felt was an unreasonable request. The two had words. In the end, the Father DID NOT COMPLY and there were NO CONSEQUENCES to him. Nothing happened to him, no injustice. But then, he has gone and taken this to every news medium, online,in print, and on air, for the sole purpose of making a fool of this man ,John Taylor . Like he is taking some kind of revenge on him when he didn't even DO anything to him. What kind of person does this? It's just vicious.