SALEM - Seasonal issues at Gardner Lake State Park came to a head this summer, prompting local and state officials to make some changes.

During Independence Day weekend in July, police were dispatched to a report of a physical assault that sent one person to the hospital with a head injury, town officials said. And the hundreds of people who were estimated to have visited the park that weekend left behind piles of trash - including a used diaper on a grill.

Salem First Selectman Kevin Lyden said he spent one morning collecting more than 100 alcoholic beverage caps from the beach.

Lyden, who sent a photo of the bottle caps to officials at the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said he was pleased when the state agency announced it would be placing a dumpster at the site.

Because of the park's long-standing carry-in-carry-out rule, no dumpster had ever been placed in the park.

But a week after the dumpster's arrival, some park visitors said they hadn't noticed it, given its location behind a fence and bushes.

Several days after the dumpster arrived, Porsche Bellamy, of Norwich, said she had been at the beach all day and hadn’t noticed it.

“I think they would be better off placing trash cans all throughout the park. I think about that every time I come here,” Bellamy said.

State Sen. Paul Formica, who represents the 20th District, had drafted a letter signed by several other area representatives asking DEEP to establish a temporary alcohol ban in the park, which was granted by Commissioner Robert Klee on Aug. 3.

The temporary ban went into effect the following weekend and lasted until Columbus Day. Now, Lyden is working with local and state officials to request a permanent alcohol ban in the park.

"It seems like it will happen," Lyden said of the permanent ban. "It's such a small park. It makes me wonder why we ever allowed alcohol in the first place."

Salem resident troopers have also included the park in their scheduled rounds of the town to enforce the ban and dole out tickets as needed, Lyden said.

And though he also considered requesting an entrance fee for the park, Lyden said that is off the table at the moment. Families travel from surrounding towns to go to the beach in the summer simply because it is free, he said.

"The entire goal is to keep it a family-friendly place," Lyden said.