Flag dispute sparks veteran angst at city leaders in Idaho

Flag dispute sparks veteran angst at city leaders in Idaho
The Associated Press

Kellogg, Idaho » A dispute between military veterans and town leaders in Kellogg over flagpole etiquette and the fate of a war memorial park has now take a political turn, with veterans leading a drive to recall the mayor and all six members of the City Council.

The veterans' frustration with the officials focuses on the city's response to complaints about flying a second flag below the American flag on the same flag pole at Kellogg's Memorial Park.

The flagpole, located at a stone memorial dedicated more than 50 years ago for veterans of the two World Wars and Korean War, displayed Old Glory along with a Tree City USA flag.

But commanders of the Silver Valley veterans groups complained last summer that it was improper to fly the Tree City flag over a memorial honoring soldiers. Veteran Lee Haynes said the group asked the city to remove the Tree City flag and display it on a separate pole.

In response, the city removed the American flag, dug up the stone memorial and moved it to a newer veterans memorial inside the park, irritating and frustrating veterans.

"We look at a memorial much like you do a gravesite," Haynes told the Spokesman-Review. "Why you think you can rip apart a 50-year-old memorial is beyond my imagination."

But Mayor Mac Pooler said city leaders met with veterans and believed moving the stone memorial was a suitable solution.
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