Editor,

Contrary to your editorial of Jan. 13, I assert that engaging in a court battle over Wonn Road is indeed worth its costs.

In the Wonn Road case, the outcome of a court decision could affirm that road ends which abut waters are indeed public and should be kept public.

A road end at the water’s edge is a different kind of public space than a stretch of beach.

These road end/beach access points provide a safety valve if there is a water-bound citizen in need of help. Beaching without a road for emergency transport is like finding a telephone booth with no working line.

There is another issue here. Standing at an easily accessible road end, at a spot where I know I have the right to stand, feeling the seascape and its moods in front of me is a right I take for granted, need and enjoy.

So I speak not just for myself, but for all who will come after me. We have way too few of these spaces to give up even one.

Even if it takes more time, even if it takes more resources, even if the court case means an unknown outcome, no amount of money — or gifts of other stretches of beach — can replace these access points which would be lost in perpetuity.

If the county settles the matter voluntarily, relinquishing its obligation to support our public spaces, a precedent is set for other beach owners to try for similar outcomes.

The Island County Commissioners were elected to protect the public, protect the public spaces that we use. And, yes, state law identifies road ends that abut water are public spaces for public use. We must let the courts decide. We must not let one property owner weaken the county’s muscle to do what’s right.

There is a solution, let it take its time, let the litigants provide the required materials for full discovery.

Elisa Miller

Clinton