SILVERHILL, Ala. — When a Wales West RV Resort manager asked Dick and Silvia Glover for a doctor’s letter assuring him that their then 2-year-old foster son, Caleb, posed no danger to anyone at the park last year, park owner Ken Zadnichek did not expect an outcry.

Caleb, now the adopted son of the Glovers, has HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

The RV park, which features, according to its Web site, the only “… authentic Welsh Victorian light railway in the Americas.” The popular site located near Silverhill, opened in 2004, has an indoor pool; a lake with swimming facilities and a beach; playgrounds and picnic areas; as well as 76 RV sites. According to its Web site, the park also features a “7.5" Grand Scale” train line.

Zadnichek certainly didn’t envision the possibility of a federal case. Or the incident making national news.

But that’s what he got. Wales West declined comment for this story in an e-mail.

According to a telephone interview with Larry Bryant, an activist with the Campaign to End Aids (C2EA), Caleb, now 3-years-old, had the disease since birth and has some other challenges like a mild case of cerebral palsy. Bryant lives in the Washington, D.C. area.

“Like any youngster, Caleb loves trains, and that’s why the Glovers came to the park,” Bryant said. He added that park management learned of Caleb’s HIV status when Silvia Glover spoke to a desk clerk about her then foster son’s challenges.

“It was fear and lack of knowledge that lead to this situation,” said Bryant.

According to published reports, Dick Glover is gravely ill, and attorneys for the Justice Department have petitioned a court to have him deposed. The Justice Department is said to be trying to keep its options open should it decide to file a discrimination lawsuit against the RV park.

Accounts from that time indicate that Caleb was barred from using the park’s facilities, and the Glovers left without spending a full day at the resort. Their money was refunded.

“This situation would have gone unnoticed if people in various (HIV/AIDS) organizations hadn’t gotten outraged,” Bryant said. He added that a similar incident involving a 10-year-old boy had also happened about the same time in upstate New York.

“The stigma is everywhere,” says Bryant.

According to a National Institutes for Health Web page, “Studies of families of HIV-infected people have shown clearly that HIV is not spread through casual contact such as the sharing of food utensils, towels and bedding, swimming pools, telephones, or toilet seats.”

“Mr. Zadnichek said he didn’t know,” said Bryant. “Once he was provided information, people with HIV/AIDS were welcomed to the park.”

In fact, Wales West hosted about 150 AIDS activists from across the country last Labor Day.

“I can understand that Mr. Zadnichek didn’t know,” said Bryant. “That’s why we went down — to inform.”

Still, that this sort of situation can occur more than 20 years after AIDS was identified in this country concerns Bryant.

“It is extremely troubling to me that some allow fear and ignorance to prevent understanding the root causes of this disease. It’s not just Alabama and not just the South. We are a complete community.”