Park Ranger shot this AM at MRNP Nisqually entranc

Still feeling really down about what happened to Margaret Anderson -- even though I didn't know her, she was familiar.

The News Tribune just posted a very interesting (and lengthy) article about the law enforcement response on New Year's Day, along with another about the park's reopening:

Mount Rainier shooting drew a strong, many-pronged response
www.thenewstribune.com/2012/01/07/197389...shooting-drew-a.html

Reflection, seeds of recovery on Mount Rainier
www.thenewstribune.com/2012/01/07/197376...-of-recovery-on.html

Really good perspective in today's Seattle Times by Bruce Barcott:

seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2..._guest08barcott.html

[size=12pt]The ranger who saved Paradise[/size]

Once Barnes reached the parking lot at the Jackson Visitors Center, there would be nowhere for him to go. But there would be an estimated 200 innocent visitors and park employees around him.

Maybe he'd have taken his own life quietly. Maybe he'd have forced a suicide-by-cop situation. But in this post-Columbine age, it's hard not to imagine the darkest possibility. Though she couldn't have known it, I believe that Margaret Anderson positioned herself between Benjamin Barnes and a possible mass murder at Paradise.

[...]

Spree killers murder more than people. They desecrate a geographic space. They rub dirt on our memories. Last year's mass murders changed Norway's Utoya Island from an idyllic retreat to a place of haunting sorrow. Nearly 50 years after the fact, it's impossible to pass under the University of Texas Tower in Austin and not recall, if just for an instant, Charles Whitman and the day he turned it into a sniper's nest.

That's why I wish I could thank Anderson. By responding to a common traffic stop, and laying down her life, she diverted a killer and allowed Paradise to remain paradise.

On clear days, when the mountain comes out, none of us has to look at Mount Rainier and be reminded of mass murder. We can look and see beauty, adventure and a symbol of our connection to this place. We can look and think of Margaret Anderson. And say a little thanks.

I think it would be very fitting if we could rename the Jackson Visitor Center in honor of Margaret Anderson.

X 2^^^^^

It's already the "Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitors Center". How about the "Anderson Inn at Paradise"?

It's already the "Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitors Center".  How about the "Anderson Inn at Paradise"?

The Paradise Inn has never been named for anybody. I think trying to name it for Ranger Anderson would be an overreach.

On the other hand, the Jackson visitor center name is really just a holdover. The old flying saucer visitor center was named for Scoop Jackson in 1987, and they just transferred the name when the new one was built. See:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_M._Jackson_Visitor_Center

The new visitor center has only been open for three years. Giving it a new name, under the circumstances, seems very appropriate to me. Nobody has ever sacrificed as much to protect and serve Paradise visitors as Margaret Anderson. It's a perfect fit.

I think trying to name it for Ranger Anderson would be an overreach.
On the other hand, the Jackson visitor center name is really just a holdover.

Lowell, you are right on both counts. (Ranger) Anderson Inn at Paradise just doesn't sound right. There can be no better name for the Visitor Center, given the circumstances. Jackson's name graces many things in this state and rightly so, but it would be an uphill struggle to change the name of the Visitor Center even if it's just a holdover. I'd be happy to sign a petition or initiative or whatever it takes. Niko