I think this privately-funded director of volunteers at a "Williamsburg-style" farm (Claude Moore Colonial Farm) has
burned her bridges with the National Park Service. The Williamsburg farm has been entirely self-sustaining since evil Republicans cut its federal funding in 1980. It costs the federal government nothing to keep it open, but closing the facility costs it the visitor revenues it needs to operate.
According to Anna Eberly, managing director of the farm, NPS sent law enforcement agents to the park on Tuesday evening to remove staff and volunteers from the property.
“You do have to wonder about the wisdom of an organization that would use staff they don’t have the money to pay to evict visitors from a park site that operates without costing them any money,” she said.
Ace posted a copy of her letter, which concludes:
In all the years I have worked with the National Park Service, first as a volunteer for 6 years in Richmond where I grew up, then as an NPS employee at the for 8 very long years and now enjoyably as managing director for the last 32 years - I have never worked with a more arrogant, arbitrary and vindictive group representing the NPS.
I deeply apologize that we have to disappoint you today by being closed but know that we are working while the National Park Service is not--as usual.
As someone else commented today, next they'll be throwing tarps over Mt. Rushmore.
I'll admit that I have not paid very close attention to the WWII vets story. On the surface, it sounded to me like one of those tempests in a teapot that get blown way out of proportion on the Internet.
ReplyDeleteBut when you start adding things up, the overall picture begins to look a bit different (though I'm very conscious that there are often reasons for decisions that look dumb on the surface that the media helpful "forget" to tell people, so I'm still erring on the side of caution).
Thanks for writing about this - I would not have seen it otherwise.
Ace also reports that the Naval Academy Athletics Director was told he had to shut down the no-cost Army-Navy game "for the optics."
ReplyDeleteI liked Rand Paul's zinger: the NPS sent seven guards out to stop the WWII vets from entering the open-air memorial. Sadly, that was two more guards than we had at Benghazi.
The IRS will be calling on Ms. Eberly presently.
ReplyDeleteFigure 30 days as the over/under.
The games have been given the go ahead. Apparently the optics of not playing were worse than the alternative.
ReplyDeleteheh
0>;~}
The Miramar Air Show, which turned a profit of 1.6M last year, has been cut.
ReplyDelete400,000 civilians attached to the military have received furlough notices, even though their positions were funded by Congress and signed off by the President just before the shutdown.
There's more than a pattern, here.
Valerie
I could half-way understand closing attractions and venues that have to have safety or security people there (indoor museums, some parks). But setting up barricades so people can't see into the Lincoln memorial? Closing the WWII memorial, trying to close Mt. Vernon (because the NPS takes care of the parking lots, even though the entire estate is and has been private for 150 years)? Yes, there's a pattern.
ReplyDeleteLittleRed1