Veterans Park in Port Angeles includes a replica of the Liberty Bell.
The inscription on the original Liberty Bell, and our replica, reads, “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. LEV. XXV X.”
People experiencing homelessness or suffering from addiction or mental illness are not intentionally treading on the sacred or treating Veterans Park any better or worse than any other public space in Port Angeles (April 21, PDN, “Port Angeles panel ‘on the fence about the fence’ at Veterans Memorial Park”).
We need to look forward to the best interests of all the inhabitants of Port Angeles post-economic crisis, post-opioid epidemic and post-political polarization.
Port Angeles has changed along with the rest of rural America.
The ‘Make America Great Again’ mantra will not bring back old growth forests or large salmon runs, which were the foundation for our 20th century economic growth.
Task force members who decide future access to the shelter in Veteran’s Park should not be selected from a special interests group who want Veterans Park to be used solely by people who check off all the boxes in their minds of who should be using the park.
Rather, task force members should be willing to address the need for a centrally located public park with shelter, trash cans including needle disposal, benches, and 24-hour access to a toilet.
Task force members should not start out with a narrow solution (build the fence).
Carolyn Wilcox,
Port Angeles