[DEJ]

The following is from the camp directors back in May of this year, should help explain what is and has been going on.

In June 2021, during staff training week before camp opened, Randy Owen left a threatening voicemail message at Belknap accusing our staff members of trespassing on his side of the island. After a thorough investigation, the Tuftonboro police determined that none of our leaders trespassed on Randy Owen’s land, and instead, charged him with criminal harassment based on the content of his voicemail message on the Camp Belknap answering machine.

Randy Owen was arrested, arraigned and released on bail with conditions to avoid further contact with Belknap. His criminal trial is currently scheduled for August 2022. Given our complete closure of Farm Island during the 2021 Camp season and the active ongoing criminal investigation, we did not communicate the particulars of the criminal harassment matter until now. Because a definitive trial date was set, and the matter is progressing, we want to provide you with these details to explain why we will not be using our property on Farm Island again this summer.

Additionally, for more than a year and continuing to the present, Randy Owen engaged in a libel and slander campaign against Camp Belknap and our co-Executive Directors Seth and Stephanie Kassels. In response, we just filed a civil defamation lawsuit against him in the Carroll County Superior Court in New Hampshire. In short, Randy Owen’s false and defamatory written and oral representations – which he repeatedly publicly stated, posted online, or shared by email with our neighbors, local and state political and regulatory officials, the press, and members of the public – are unacceptable and must be stopped.
We thought long and hard before resorting to legal action, but believe we were left with no choice in order to manage this most challenging situation. As always, our goals are to protect the safety and security of the campers, staff, and Camp – now and in the future – and to help secure and preserve the Belknap experience we all know and cherish.

At this time, we do not plan to use Farm Island for any Camp activities during the 2022 season. While we hope that we will soon be able to resume using Farm Island for overnights, in the short term we remain focused on continuing to resolve these matters safely and securely.

If you have any questions or want to discuss any aspects of this matter, please reach out directly to Seth Kassels or Tom Wintner.

Sincerely,




Seth & Stephanie Kassels Co-Executive Directors
Tom Wintner, Chair of the Board of Trustees
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