PORT ANGELES – A new decorative security gate has gone up at Veterans’ Park in Port Angeles.

The gate, featuring soldiers and stars, completes a fence that was erected around the Liberty Bell structure at the park along Lincoln Street.

Former Port Angele mayor Karen Rogers has led a fundraising effort to pay for the fence, after the bell and its structure suffered severe vandalism.

Rogers says the gate went up Wednesday and that was a fitting day.

Well, I’m really pleased with the design. It’s one thing to have a vision, but then to see it. See the artist put it to work. I’ve received numerous calls, Facebook is alive with many very positive comments and what a touching day to put the gates up on Remembrance Day of 9/11.

Rogers says they’ll paint the soldiers and stars black, but will leave the rest of the fencing its current brown.

She says they’ll also work on the bell and structure itself.

The bell itself will be repolished and refinished. There is a lot of damage to it,  of graffiti and inscribing  on it. So, we’re going to do our best to restore it so it’ll go back to its beautiful patina color. And then the structure itself has been damaged severely and so that wooden structure is going to be repaired and restained where we can.

The city-owned park has new lighting and eventually there will be new security cameras added. Like the fence, it’s all been paid by private donations.

Eventually, Rogers hopes to do work with the landscaping and other parts of the park. The park has become a popular spot for the homeless to camp and there has been frequent littering, public urination and defecation, vandalism, and drug use at the memorial.