While you and your pet(s) may hold an immaculate status, Mr. Estes, it is very unfortunate that your fellow dog owners, neighbors and many local miscreants do not.

That is the reason for the closure of the footpaths and trails that had been cut through the boundary woods that surround this 14-acre parcel. Restricting access to the main entry and installing a video surveillance system has actually worked well to keep people acting like adults on these sacred grounds.

For nearly 150 years, Laurel Grove, the largest and most populated cemetery in the peninsula, has never been promoted or encouraged as a place “for people and their dogs to meet.” It is a cemetery. A place for respect, honor and personal contemplation.

The “new” rules and restrictions that have been posted at Laurel Grove Cemetery are simply the physical manifestation of the rule. Honor the dead; Don’t let your dog defile a grave; Respect the property of others; Consider the needs and the feelings of your fellow man. And lastly; know when to keep your opinions to yourself. If your father was indeed a Mason, he would have shown you all these things by his own example.

Stewart Miller

Port Townsend