Residents split over Ottawa County motto as dozens speak during public comment
Eighteen registered speakers addressed the board during a long public-comment period that focused largely on whether to keep or remove the county motto. Speakers ranged from veterans and civic leaders to social-service advocates and residents citing COVID-era policy impacts.
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Dozens of residents used the meeting's public-comment window to press commissioners on the county motto and related governance questions. Speakers who supported keeping "Where Freedom Rings" framed it as a defense of liberty, parental rights and traditional values; others said the phrase had been weaponized and urged its removal to reduce harm and exclusion.
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