To the editor:

On a glorious June day, less than a year ago, the residents of Tiverton gathered at Grinnell’s Beach to celebrate the re-opening of their beach.

The Beach Committee spearheaded a wonderful refurbishment of the entire beach area. Everyone was proud of the end result, a unique location of which we could all be proud.

Who could possibly have imagined that the spot would now be in the center of such dispute on who has the right to enjoy this wonderful Tiverton asset.

Particularly at a time of crisis we should remember that the State of Rhode Island generously gave us a substantial amount of money to fulfill the vision at Grinnell’s beach. At a time like this, when the state is hard pressed for funds, where a third of the revenue stream comes from our usually vibrant tourism business, we should welcome all visitors to all local attractions. We should show our support for the state and think of the visitor from Fall River as being as valuable as the one from France. All visitors bring with them resources that they leave with our businesses.

All of us, including our law enforcement personnel, should  welcome out-of-state visitors, informing them of our great restaurants and unique retail venues.

To help our restaurant owners we might think of letting them sell their specialties from vending carts at all our open spaces including the pier at Grinnell’s. 

The best welcome is a friendly smile! 

Barbara Pelletier

Tiverton