Graduates of Richland and Hanford high schools are excited concrete block letters will make a return when renovation of the Fran Rish Stadium is complete. That has many others in Tri-Cities wishing for a return to hillside letters (also called Mountain Monograms). VOTE!

I did not attend high school in Tri-Cities, but my understanding is the letters were removed for three reasons: they cause erosion and other environmental problems to the hillside, painting and straightening the letters requires people to tromp all over sensitive vegetation, and they're a magnet for rival schools to vandalize.

In Utah the two major universities have replaced their stone letters with elevated letters. It looks like they're on the hillside, but they're actually about five feet off the ground. This eliminates the environmental concern, makes them harder to vandalize and easier to maintain. Both are maintained by school staff, not students.

This sounds like a workable solution. Why can't it be done here? The tradition is 110 years old. Perhaps it's unfair to Pasco schools since they have no hillsides. Maybe it wouldn't be worth the money. What do you think?

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