Fisher Park Dispute Sparks Responses

I was incensed when I read “Calls for a Passive Park Start an Active Debate” (June 4). I feel that the article was extremely biased and misrepresented the sentiment of the neighborhood surrounding Jack Fisher Park.

My major concerns center on the hazards in the park and the current misuse of the park. There is a fire pit that has a 4-foot drop with no railing, and toddlers frequently fall into it. There is an 8-foot drop into the creek bed with only a small metal rail for protection. The bank of the creek has eroded, and it is very unsafe for any children. The playground equipment is outdated and not safe for the small children that use it.

I want to add that I belong to a moms’ group in this neighborhood made up of about 50 moms. We all share safety concerns and have chosen not to use this park as the weekly meeting place for our play group.

Misuse of the park includes baseball games, soccer games and live music. My daughter and other children have been hit by balls or players of these games. This is a very small and narrow park that is studded with large trees, with the playground in the center. This is not a park meant for active sports.

The outdated and unclean bathrooms are havens for derelicts and drug deals. The live music that takes place in the park impacts the homes that back up to the park. Each weekend these homes are bombarded by music, not necessarily of their choice. And I would add that the latest “concert” last weekend was bagpipes, so as to clarify that this is not an effort to exclude any particular ethnic group. Frankly, I do not care if a band of gorillas use the park as long as they clean up after themselves and are courteous to others.

I have lived in the northwest section of Santa Ana since 1973. I am now living in my fourth home in this area. I choose to live here and raise my family. My husband and I are both doctors and could live anywhere in this county.

I enjoy the multiple ethnic makeup of this city. I believe that cries of ethnic exclusion and racism about this park are efforts to create an issue that will enhance political careers, not help restore an old park to its former safe and beautiful self.

JUDITH K. DIETCH, Santa Ana