NORTH CAROLINA: Confederate Flag Supporters Fight to Keep Supporter in Parade
NEWTON, N.C. — The Confederate flag controversy continued Tuesday night at a Newton City Council meeting.
The community voiced their concerns about removing the flag from the city’s annual Soldier Reunion Parade.
“You’re out of order,” said Newton Mayor Anne Stedman as she slammed her gavel.
The Confederate Flag may be banned from a local parade.
It was a heated discussion Tuesday over flag signifying a war fought more than 150 years ago.
“We’re here for heritage, not hate, we don’t have any hate,” said Robert Smith, Sons of Confederate Veterans. “This flag has never killed anyone.”
It was standing room only at the council meeting. The topic hundreds came for was whether the Confederate flag should be removed from Newton’s annual Soldiers Reunion Parade.
“We the people of Newton have a proud heritage,” said Smith.
“My third great grandfather was from Burke County and he fought in the civil war,” said Adam Gates, a Newton resident.
Last years parade hosted more than 10,000 people. Rev. Dr. Dwayne Tutt of Thomas Chapel AME Zion Church, says that’s what worries him most.
“I did get calls from people saying this parade this year they saw more of a presence of the confederate flag after what we saw in South Carolina,” said Tutt. “That’s a signal to me that that’s toxic and I don’t want anything bad to happen to the community.”
The Confederate flag wasn’t on the city council agenda. However, after Tutt talked to the mayor, she said they’d discuss removing the flag during public comment of the meeting.
“The only people that can take away really is the reunion committee,” said Chair Wayne Dellinger, Newton Merchants Association.
–wcnc.com
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VIRGINIA: School Board Favors Confederate Ban on Clothing
CHRISTIANSBURG — Montgomery County Public Schools may soon have dress code policy that specifically bans the Confederate flag.
On Tuesday night the school board approved the first reading of a revised countywide ban that would bar apparel, including decals, “that would cause a disruption to the learning environment in any school.”
Following the reading, board member Joe Ivers suggested the policy’s language be amended to include specific examples.
“The examples would be clothing articles, material, publications or any item that denotes Klu Klux Klan, Aryan Nation, white supremacy, Black Power, Confederate flags or articles, neo-Nazi or any other hate groups,” Ivers said.
At the request of board member Marti Graham, the wording “this list is not intended to be all inclusive” was also added.
The newly amended policy is scheduled to be read for a second time, and possibly voted on, during the board’s November 17th meeting.
The policy discussion comes on the heels of close to two months of community debate and protests over Christiansburg High School’s recent ban on Confederate symbols from student vehicles in the parking lot. The school’s dress code has barred Confederate symbols since 2002. The school policy prohibiting the flag from vehicles in the parking lot didn’t take effect until this school year.
On Sept. 17, about two dozen Christiansburg High School students were suspended as a result of a rally in support of the rebel flag.
Previous board meetings have contained a wide range of public comment containing strong opinions of both heritage and hate in regards to the Confederate flag.
On Tuesday, a small but vocal group of rebel flag supporters were the lone speakers to address the board. Those speakers included H.K. Edgerton, a self-proclaimed “black Confederate activist,” who traveled from Asheville, North Carolina, and attended the meeting in a Confederate uniform.
“I came here tonight because what you do here tonight not only affects Christiansburg, but it affects this entire nation,” Edgerton said.
Prior to the meeting, Edgerton said he received no compensation for his appearance.
–roanoke.com
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OKLAHOMA: Man Arrested For Shooting at Civil War Re-Enactors
An Oklahoma man opened fire on some Civil War re-enactors as they put on the Battle of Honey Springs, a union victory over Indian territory, on Nov. 6.
Gary Allen Lane was arrested for a slew of charges related to shooting at Civil War re-enactors on Nov. 6. (Photo: McIntosh County Sheriff’s Department)
McIntosh County Sheriff’s Department said deputies arrested Gary Allen Lane, who lives near the site of the re-enactment, for a slew of charges related to the incident. He was drunk at the time.
When deputies arrived on the scene, they found Lane holding a loaded sawed off shotgun. He refused to comply with commands and ultimately began to flee, discarding the shotgun as he ran. Deputies eventually caught up with him and after a short struggle they arrested him.
Afterward investigators found that some of the rounds Lane fired penetrated a tent where nine actors were standing. One actor was struck in the arm by a pellet, but did not sustain injury.
Lane was transported to the McIntosh County Criminal Justice Center, where he is being held without bond.
He was charged with reckless conduct with a firearm, assault and battery with a deadly weapon by use of firearm, possession of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol, malicious injury to property and resisting arrest.
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