PORT TOWNSEND — Businesses are rallying around a flagpole project planned by the senior class of Port Townsend High School.

The support has been so swift and certain that the proposal hasn’t even been reviewed by the Port Townsend School Board.

The senior class hopes to get permission to replace an aging 25-foot flagpole in front of the gymnasium with a refurbished 40-foot pole currently standing elsewhere on school grounds.

The pole would have a new raised flower bed around it with a plaque honoring the victims of the World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.

“When everybody sees this flagpole, they’ll remember the attacks,” said 17-year-old Travis Racine. “It’s a big turning point in our lives.

“This will remind us about our freedom and that we need to stick together through this.”

This full report appears in the Friday/Saturday Jefferson County edition of the Peninsula Daily News. It’s on sale throughout the North Olympic Peninsula, but you can get the PDN delivered to your home or office by simply clicking on “Subscribe.”