Park has its pros, cons

To the editor:
I live very close to Hudson Family Park in Portland. When we heard about the park we wondered just how many problems it would bring to the neighborhood.
But when the park was finished we found that it is beautiful. It is a great place for people to get out and walk, and it is probably the most beautiful play area for children I’ve ever seen. And it has a nice fenced-in area for people to take their dogs and let them run.
My husband and I walk (I use the term walk loosely since I am in a motorized wheelchair while we walk) almost every evening and it is almost always through the park and around the lake. Our grandkids love the play area and the hill they can slide down in the winter.
There is a nice amphitheatre for bands to come and entertain the people, and it is usually for a small fee. That is okay. Someone has to pay the bands to come and play.
But for the life of me I can’t figure out what kind of bands they are that you have to sell alcoholic beverages so people will come to hear them.
The radio station announces that you are not allowed to bring alcoholic beverages to the park, but they will sell it to you there. I just can’t understand how alcoholic beverages and a family park go together. Let alone the fact that this last one was on a Sunday and you still sold alcohol.
How long will it be before the police are waiting to arrest those who have been drinking the alcohol you sold them? Or will they just look the other way because, after all, you sold it to them so it is okay?
Like I said, the park is beautiful and great for people of all ages, but I believe you need to take a second look at the practice of selling alcohol. Does the city of Portland really need the money that bad? What kind of example are we setting for our young people by letting our children and grandchildren witness this?
And by the way, if you live on the south side of Portland and you don’t want to listen to this music, you have to stay inside and keep your TV turned up or leave town until it is over.
Pastor Carolyn Curtis
Portland
(Editor’s note: Although the city of Portland did pass an ordinance allowing alcohol sales in the park, it does not receive revenue from those sales.)[[In-content Ad]]