September 30, 2013
Last week and this week vandals sprayed graffiti on the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site headquarters building. The graffiti made reference to the operation of Pearson Air Museum and also included threatening language. Our three organizations condemn this behavior. This does not represent our values or the community in which we live and serve. It is well known that there has been a disagreement over the operation of the Pearson Air Museum within the Vancouver National Historic Reserve. However, we are working to resolve the disagreement through mediation. We are making progress and plan to keep working through our differences in a constructive and thoughtful manner. We intend to continue to leverage the strengths of each of our organizations for the benefit of Vancouver National Historic Reserve and the public. We support each other's efforts within the Reserve and the larger community. We ask that our community do the same. Acts such as this vandalism do not help any of us.
Eric Holmes – City Manager, City of Vancouver
Tracy Fortmann – Superintendent, National Park Service, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
Elson Strahan – President and CEO, Fort Vancouver National Trust