Nudist camp’s permit under scrutiny

 

 

Commission to debate Lake Edun request to operate nudist business

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By Tim Hrenchir

March 29, 2009

County commissioners in January 2001 effectively stripped the owners of southwest Shawnee County’s Lake Edun nudist camp of their right to operate it as a clothing-free recreational area after Dec. 31, 2002.

 

But the commission Monday will again consider issuing a permit to allow the property at the southwest corner of S.W. 53rd and Indian Hills Road to be used for that purpose.

 

The request from Lake Edun owners Webb and Julie Garlinghouse is among items Commissioners Vic Miller, Shelly Buhler and Ted Ensley plan to consider when they meet at 9 a.m. at the county courthouse, 200 S.E. 7th.

For more than a decade beginning in 1996, county officials and the Garlinghouses battled over zoning regulations affecting Lake Edun, which promotes a clothing-free lifestyle and uses the term “naturist” rather than “nudist.” Edun is “nude” spelled backward.

 

Commissioners in January 2001 voted 2-1 to approve a conditional-use permit allowing Lake Edun to host commercial or recreational activities, provided the Garlinghouses couldn’t try to renew the permit after it expired Dec. 31, 2002.

 

Miller and then-Commissioner Marice Kane voted in favor of the move while Ensley dissented. Miller said he could support issuing the permit only because it contained a stipulation that it couldn’t be renewed. He said that would put “a definite end to it.”

 

But Lake Edun apparently continued to operate after 2002, and the county filed suit. A district judge issued a permanent restraining order in September 2005 banning the use of the property for recreational commercial activities without a conditional-use permit.

 

In January, Webb Garlinghouse applied with the county for such a permit to operate an unenclosed, clothing-free, outdoor recreational facility offering activities that would include swimming, camping and hiking. He asked permission for the camp to host five planned events each year, with each anticipated to draw more than 100 people and last not more than 48 hours.

When county planning commissioners considered the request March 9, Webb Garlinghouse asked them to defer the matter until their April 13 meeting so he could address county rules regarding water service and sewage disposal.

But planning commissioners voted 4-2 not to defer the matter.

They heard testimony from speakers who included Webb Garlinghouse and seven of Lake Edun’s neighbors. Those neighbors asked the planning commission to recommend the permit’s denial.

 

Planning commissioners then voted 6-0 to recommend county commissioners deny the permit.

 

Because a protest petition filed with the county contained signatures of owners of more than 20 percent of the land within 1,000 feet of the Lake Edun property, a unanimous vote of the commission is required to approve the permit.

 

County commissioners also plan today to consider:

 

• Granting a permit to allow the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office to establish a training facility and an outdoor firing range on property located near the southern boundary of Forbes Field. The proposed site is north of S.E. 77th and west of S.E. California. Planning commissioners on March 9 voted 6-0 to recommend approving the move, provided certain conditions are met.

 

• Amending a permit to allow for the construction and operation of an asphalt plant and a concrete ready-mix plant on property that contains the existing Big Springs Rock Quarry and is located north of S.E. 45th, just west of the county’s eastern boundary. Planning commissioners voted 6-0 to March 9 to recommend approving the move, provided certain conditions are met.

 

Tim Hrenchir can be reached at (785) 295-1184 or tim.hrenchir@cjonline.com.

 

Pasted from <http://www.cjonline.com/news/2009-03-30/camps_permit_under_scrutiny>  

 

Eight college students compete in Nude Olympics

By HUNTER SIZEMORE, Alligator Writer

Five men, some hairy, some shaved clean below the waist, sprinted across a field of clay, soggy from Saturday’s squall.

Sunday was the 14th Nude College Greek Athletic meet in Monticello.

Driving into Tallahassee Naturally, where the meet was held, I worried about what any first–time, unfit male nudist worries about: being surrounded by sculpted bodies, and of course, erections. Neither fear turned out to be an issue.

Pulling my car up to the registration table, I was greeted by Stephen, the broad–shouldered winner of five Nude Olympics in the athletic male division. He wore a leather gladiator chest piece, a cotton undershirt, and nothing else. Stephen later told me, while standing bare in the discus throwing circle, he would buy dinner for anyone who could find him a “worthy opponent” to compete nude. After parking, I hid behind my car, and slowly arranged the bananas, oranges, water and sun lotion in my book bag.

Facing the social equivalent of jumping out of an airplane, I was in no hurry. Nobody explained when or where to strip down, but I didn’t want to turn in my paperwork at the registration desk clothed.

Finally, I took the plunge, which turned out to be the most difficult part, besides dealing with the sunburn. Organizers demonstrated the ancient methods in the long jump, the discus, the javelin and the 200 meter dash.

Six men competed in the non–athlete class and two competed as athletes. While no women competed, several looked on from the crowd, some cheering on their friends.

After long jumping into a trough of mud, the competitors washed off in a nearby pond and moved onto the discus, followed by the 200–yard dash and the javelin.

AJ, a non–athlete, and Kevin, an athlete, from Florida State University, took first place in their respective divisions. While sitting on a bench in the buff following the Olympics, Paul LeValley, Naturally’s remaining active founder, discussed his captivation with the idea of nudism and classical philosophers.

He wrote his dissertation on the gymnosophists, the nude philosophers that Alexander the Great met in India, and has written a column for “Travel Naturally” magazine about nudism in art history, according to his Web site.

For LeValley, who sports a philosopher’s beard, there is a connection between his research and his nudism.

“This makes it all real,” he said.

 

Pasted from <http://www.alligator.org/articles/2009/03/30/news/local/090330_nude.txt>

The footing was treacherous, made more difficult by a lack of shoes. In the traditional Olympian fashion, they were nude.

But what can I say, I was too.

Totally exposed to the sun

Totally exposed to the sun

Home » Opinion » Opinion

Tue, 31 Mar 2009

Opinion

The dermatologist raised an eye when I told him that I had been covering up from the fierce Dunedin sun, that a hat never left my head.

Kidney transplantees are more prone to skin cancer, and as I am also more prone to a fear of death, for the past four years I have been very careful.

“You can also do a lot of damage when you are very young,” he said.

An icy chill snaked up my spine.

“How young?” I asked.

“Oh, you know, 9, 10, 11,” he said nonchalantly.

I tend not to mention this at prestigious dinner parties, but when I was 9, 10 or 11, I was a nudist.

Every pore on my fair-skinned wafer-thin body was regularly roasted at a delightful sun and health club out on the Taieri, its exact location best left to the imagination of religious cranks and Stadium supporters, though it has to be said it was directly on the flight path to the Taieri Aerodrome.

I never flew in those days, but doubtless it was alluded to in aviatorial metaphor by the pilot (“Directly below us now you will see breasts”).

But I never thought much of it then.

I didn’t even know what nudism was.

Our family just worshipped the sun.

So did other families and couples at the club.

No singles were allowed. We squealed and threw quoits together and splashed in a pool.

There was a magazine. Everybody had a false name.

My father told me the real life identities of a couple of the members. They were quite famous in a local small pond sort of way.

I don’t think people covered up then.

12next ›last »

From:  http://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/opinion/49657/totally-exposed-sun

CLOTHES STRICTLY FORBIDDEN

 

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Nudist Hotel Planned in Germany

Clothes will be strictly forbidden on the premises of Germany’s first hotel for nudists, which will open shortly in the southwestern Black Forest region.

 

DPA

Nudism has always been popular in Germany.

Investors plan to set up a hotel catering exclusively to nudists in the picturesque Black Forest town of Freudenstadt, which incidentally translates as Town of Joys. 

Guests will be required to remove their clothes at the entrance and must be naked at all times while on the premises, according to the strict house rules that have already been posted on the Internet.

“We hope to open as soon as possible,” Silvia Probsthain, a member of staff at the planned Hotel Rosengarten, told SPIEGEL ONLINE. “It will be the first comprehensively nudist hotel in Germany.” There are similar hotels catering for nudists in Scandinavia, Croatia and the south of France, said Probsthain.

The rules state that all guests must put towels on chairs and loungers before using them, that there be no sexual harassment and that all sexual activity in commonly accessible rooms is strictly forbidden. People who break the rules will have to put their clothes on and leave.

 

RELATED SPIEGEL ONLINE LINKS

• Trekking in the Buff: Switzerland Plans to Fine Naked Hikers (01/29/2009)

• Baring It All: Get Naked with the Germans (05/10/2006)

Freudenstadt’s tourism director Michael Krause said the contracts for the hotel hadn’t been finalized yet and that it was unclear when the project will go ahead. “I’m in two minds,” Krause told SPIEGEL ONLINE. “It’s always good if a new hotel is set up but I’d prefer a normal hotel concept.” 

Nude hiking is proving increasingly popular in Germany and two villages in the central Harz mountain range plan to mark special forest hiking routes for naked ramblers. The practice is frowned on in neighboring Switzerland, however, where authorities plan to fine such behavior.

RELATED SPIEGEL ONLINE LINKS

• Trekking in the Buff: Switzerland Plans to Fine Naked Hikers (01/29/2009)

• Baring It All: Get Naked with the Germans (05/10/2006)

Nude hiking: New meaning for ‘fanny pack’

Barry Lewis: Nude hiking:

 New meaning for ‘fanny pack’ Text Size:

 A | A | A Print this Article Email this Article ShareThisRespond to this Article Posted: March 29, 2009 – 2:00 AM

 I’m a klutz when it comes to spending time in the woods.

 Despite a genuine love for hiking and camping, over the years I’ve gathered enough splinters to build a bench and enough scratches to fill a pool hall.

 I had an encounter once with poison ivy that will forever remind me that leaves of three — better let them be.

 And there was the year I nearly cut off my thumb with a hatchet when I mistook it for a piece of firewood.

 OK, so at times I got a bit too close to the great outdoors.

But at least I knew there were boundaries.

Not like the folks I read about last week in the New York Times who know of no boundaries and really want to expose themselves to nature. They’re not happy hiking unless they can do so in the nude.

Suddenly, I had that leaves of three itch that I didn’t feel comfortable scratching.

 The article described the growing interest in nude hiking as fashionable.

 I guess, if you consider trekking around in your birthday suit in fashion.

 International Nudist, a Web site “dedicated to nudists and naturists,” says you haven’t lived until you’ve hiked naked.

Looking down at my thumb and considering the possible hatchet job I could accidentally perform on other body parts, I’m not sure I’d still be alive if I hiked in the nude. At the very least, I’m sure I would be scarred for life, as would any of the hikers I’d pass on my journey.

 The Web site also asked its visitors the question: Have you ever been walking along in the wilderness and thought, “Gee, this would feel even better without clothes?”

 Clearly, I’m not hiking on the same trails as those folks. Although I once had that same feeling walking through the mall.

 Not that I’m totally opposed to being au naturel.

 Au contraire.

 Who knows how many people, more than 30 years later, are still rubbing their eyes in disbelief at the sight of three gangly bare-bottomed teenage lads streaking across the campus at Brooklyn College?

 It was spring. It was a fad. We were young. Stupid. And back then, I ran a lot faster. Especially without clothes.

 So I’m not a complete prude.

 Just a realistic one.

 Nude sun bathing.

 Nude swimming.

 Nude volleyball — I get it. Although I’d be worried about someone spiking the ball.

 But these are activities done when it’s warm and usually in the privacy of one’s own backyard or at a resort where just the staff are in full attire.

 Hike nude in the woods, and there’s a good chance you’ll embarrass someone other than Mother Nature. Like some mother walking with her 6-year-old kid who now has to explain why a funny-looking grizzly bear had on a hat, boots and said, “Hi!” to them.

 Speaking about gear, how is it that you can wear a backpack and not clothes. And how comfortable is that backpack going to feel rubbing against your skin?

 Nude hiking does give new meaning to the phrase “fanny pack.

” Being free of clothes doesn’t necessarily free these folks from certain health issues.

 The obvious one is sunburn.

 There’s also the chance for mosquito bites in all the wrong places.

 And doctors say the best way to prevent Lyme disease while hiking is to tuck your pant legs into your socks. That’ll keep the ticks from getting to your skin. So much for tucking.

 I think there reaches a time when we have to admit that clothes — any clothes — can make the man a better-looking man. Same for the woman.

 For even if you can survive the ticks and the bites and burns, you can’t escape reality, age and gravity.

 Barry Lewis is the Sullivan County editor. He can be reached at 794-3712 or at blewis@th-record.com

Pasted from <http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090329/COMM/903290322/-1/NEWS>

Tallahassee Nudist club to hold annual nude Olympics

Thu. March 26, 2009; Posted: 07:56 PM

U. Florida, Gainesville, FL, Mar 26, 2009 (Independent Florida Alligator/UWire via COMTEX) — MNCOF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating –

 

No shoes, no shirt, no pants, no problem.

 This is the deal for nudists headed to the 14th Nude College Greek Athletic Meet on Saturday at the Tallahassee Naturally nudist club in Monticello, near Tallahassee.

“It’s a fun thing, to get the feel of being nude,” “FSU traditionally sweeps the victory,” Levvalley said. “I’d like to see someone else be competitive.”

The University of Florida has supplied one champion, identified only as Keith, in 1998, according to the Tallahassee Naturally Web site.

The event is not clothing-optional; those who attend must be nude. Competitors get in free, while spectators must pay $20 per person or couple.

Participants should bring a beach towel or blanket, sunscreen, food and water for the day, according to a press release. Radios, drugs and excessive drinking are not allowed.

http://www.alligator.org

For full details for MNCOF click here.

‘Red Dawn’ in a Nudist Colony … with Rob Schneider?

by Peter Martin Mar 25th 2009 // 3:45PM

Filed under: Fandom, Trailers and Clips

Wouldn’t every movie be better if it featured naked people? That was my thinking as an overheated youth in the late 70s and early 80s, and, fortunately for me, theaters were flooded in those days with naked people — almost all lovely young women. Of course, some movies resisted that notion, insisting on keeping characters fully clothed for reasons of “artistic integrity,” “narrative logic,” or “refusal of actresses to cheapen themselves by appearing in gratuitous nude scenes.”

One such movie was John Milius’ Red Dawn, the gloriously jingoistic paen to teenagers arming themselves with machine guns and mowing down invading Russians, in which Lea Thompson and Jennifer Grey kept their clothes on as soldiers of misfortune. An official remake is in development, but if you don’t want to wait for that, the very talented Jake Szymanski (The Dirty Garage) at Funny or Die has forged ahead with his own version … set in a nudist colony.

Frankly, this is not quite my dream remake. For one thing, the faux trailer features frontally nude men almost exclusively, without a modern, naked equivalent of Lea Thompson or Jennifer Grey in sight. Still, a fully-clothed Mena Suvari appears, wielding a whip, and Vinnie Jones chews up the scenery as the Russian leader. A very naked Rob Schneider leads the rebellion. Which is more frightening: an invading foreign army, or Rob Schneider naked? Watch it and decide for yourself.

 

Click link below for Video:

 WARNING: NSFW due to nudity. 

 

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/77caf038b8/naked-dawn

 

3 Comments

Tags: funny or die, FunnyOrDie, jake szymanski, JakeSzymanski, mena suvari, MenaSuvari, naked dawn, NakedDawn, rob schneider, RobSchneider, vinnie jones, VinnieJones

 

Pasted from <http://www.cinematical.com/2009/03/25/watch-this-its-red-dawn-in-a-nudist-colony-with-rob-schn/> 

Magazine photos test child nudity protocols

 Robin Usher

March 25, 2009

ART Monthly Australia, the magazine criticised by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd last year for carrying a photo of a nude schoolgirl on its cover, has published more naked images to test the Government’s guidelines aimed at protecting children.

 

But editor Maurice O’Riordan said yesterday the three pictures of nude girls had been found to comply with the Australia Council’s “children in art” protocols, even though they were starker than last year’s image.

 

The protocols demand that naked images of children be considered by the Classification Board to ensure they are not obscene. Anyone who photographs children needs parental permission before the pictures can be exhibited and must declare the photographs did not involve exploitation of the subject.

 

The full-frontal photographs – taken from an American book and exhibition, The Century Project, by Frank Cordelle – are used to illustrate a review of David Marr’s book, The Henson Case, about last year’s controversy over a Sydney exhibition by photographer Bill Henson that included images of pubescent girls.

 

The review, by Canadian sociologist Paul Rapoport, defends Henson, alleging that “denunciation of child nudity is more harmful than a picture”, and criticises the Government’s new protocols for anyone funded by the Australia Council as stifling art. He wrote that nudity does not equal pornography or exploitation.

 

Both the Henson photographs and the image used by Art Monthly Australia last year – a photograph by Polixeni Papapetrou of her six-year-old daughter, Olympia – were given an unrestricted rating by the classification board.

 

Mr O’Riordan described Papapetrou’s photograph as “more demure” because of the lighting than Cordelle’s images in the latest edition, which he said were more suited to a documentary. “It was important for us to test the protocols because we are funded by the Australia Council,” he said.

 

Because the ruling was needed before publication, the magazine could not submit a completed edition and a loophole in the legislation had to be found for the photographs to be considered as still-film images, rather than portraits.

 

He had not considered putting Cordelle’s photographs on the cover because he said even the arts community appeared divided over the use of Papapetrou’s image.

 

http://www.theage.com.au/national/magazine-photos-test-child-nudity-protocols-20090324-98yb.html

BBC News – Cowen artist ‘could be charged’

The painting was removed from display at the Royal Hibernian Academy The artist behind nude paintings of Irish Taoiseach Brian Cowen which were hung in two public galleries could face criminal charges, according to the Press Association. A painting of the Irish leader holding his underpants appeared in the Royal Hibernian Academy and one of him pictured on the toilet ended up in the National Gallery. On Tuesday, the National Gallery said they had called in the police, and the painting had been up for no more than 20 minutes before it was removed. PA has reported that the artist, Conor Casby, a 35-year-old school teacher from Dublin, voluntarily accompanied investigators to a police station to be interviewed. It is understood he was not arrested. PA has said a file is being prepared, which could be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). I would like to draw an end to this by offering the portraits to the highest bidder and donate the proceeds to charity Conor Casby Artist But another senior police source told PA it was unlikely that any charges would be brought. Both paintings are said to have been seized by police. Mr Casby issued a statement to the Today FM radio station in which he said would “like to draw an end to this by offering the portraits to the highest bidder and donate the proceeds to charity”. “In terms of the arguments going on in the media now, I think they’re less and less to do with me,” he said. It is understood a detective called at the station’s studios on Tuesday to demand details of emails between the artist and the Ray D’Arcy show. Will Hanafin, the show’s producer, said the detective told him the investigation was looking at three potential offences of indecency, incitement to hatred and criminal damage, which was hammering a nail into a gallery wall. When he refused to hand over any information, Mr Hanafin said he was told police may now seek a search warrant. A police spokesman would not comment on the reports, but said that their inquiries were continuing into the matter. Irish state broadcaster RTE issued an apology at the end of its Nine News programme on Wednesday over its television report the previous evening “on the illicit hanging of caricatures of the taoiseach”.

On ‘nakation,’ forget worries and clothes

updated 2 hours, 23 minutes ago

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• Story Highlights
• Promoters say “nakations” relieve stress during bad economy
• Some resorts say they aren’t hurting like other travel industries
• Nude recreation is a $400 million business, trade group says
• Nakations can be cheap: “Typically, sunblock is all that you need,” promoter says
  
• Next Article in Travel »

By John D. Sutter
CNN    

(CNN) — There’s something about being naked that makes a person forget a layoff, pay cut or a shrunken retirement account.

Promoters say nude vacations offer a complete escape from stress and the norm.

 1 of 2

At least that’s how the promoters of nude travel see it.

The economic recession is “doing us a lot of favors, maybe because there’s the idea that if you’ve lost the shirt off your back, you should go nude,” said Erich Schuttauf, executive director of the American Association for Nude Recreation.

He added: “You go to a [nudist resort] and when you take off all your clothes, all the cues that tie you to the workaday world — the ties, the suits and everything — when that’s gone, your body says it’s time to relax. You get in that mode faster.”

While some nude-resort owners say they’re cutting back because of the recession, others said they’re on par with last year’s budgets or are expanding their services. Overall, being naked brings in big bucks. According to Schuttauf, the industry is valued at more than $400 million annually.

Boom or bust, here are Schuttauf’s top five places to forget your worries — and your swimsuit.

“Typically, sunblock is all that you need,” he said.

Cypress Cove, Kissimmee, Florida

Near Disney World and Orlando, Florida, the Cypress Cove Resort offers a range of recreational activities, including biking, a lakeside beach and a small golf course.

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The resort’s location and nice weather make it attractive, said Ted Hadley, manager of the 300-acre resort, which features a hotel, camp sites and permanent residences.

Hadley said the resort is faring well, compared with years past. For many, nude vacations are like an addiction or a necessity, he said.

“It’s something that [nudists] really enjoy and something they’re not going to give up unless they absolutely have to,” he said. The resort is “a place where they come to relax and unwind and relieve themselves of stress.”

Turtle Lake Resort, Union City, Michigan

In a business where sunshine and warmth are pretty darn important, Michigan’s Turtle Lake Resort has to get a little creative to keep clothes-free customers coming.

One of its prime features is an 11,000-square-foot clubhouse — with a BYOB policy, a dance floor and plenty of heat pumped in.

The resort also offers a lagoon, tennis courts and volleyball. Attendance for last year was up 9 percent, compared with projections, said Mark Hammond, general manager and co-owner of the resort.

And despite the frigid Michigan weather, the resort is a year-round draw, Hammond said. During winter months, it offers rooms for $42 to $90 per night.

“We’re nudists, we’re not stupid,” he said. “When it gets cold, we put our clothes on.”

Sun Meadow, Worley, Idaho

Near Spokane, Washington, and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, the Sun Meadow resort is another cold-climate nudist retreat with ample side attractions.

Schuttauf said its finest attributes are its indoor pool, meeting space and music.

Cabins, RV sites and a limited number of hotel rooms are available.

Laguna del Sol, Wilton, California

With 1,600 members, Laguna del Sol, near Sacramento, California, is among the largest nudist resorts in the country, Schuttauf said.

The resort features theme vacations, including “Nude Stock.”

The resort offers four pools, three spas and a fitness center. And if you’re not ready to dive into a naked vacation just yet, the resort offers free tours between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Avalon, Paw Paw, West Virginia

Avalon resort, at the northern tip of West Virginia, takes ordinary activities to a nude level.

The resort offers a library for naked reading, a naked fishing pond, naked wine tastings and naked hikes (through the snow, no less, and making snow angels is encouraged).

Avalon also hosts a “Nude Year’s Eve” gala, according to its Web site. Men are asked to wear a cummerbund and bow tie only.

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