Colfax flags debate goes public with 24-7 motion

Objections by some Colfax residents to the posting of WSU flags along Main Street surfaced during the final minutes of a long Colfax city agenda Monday night when Councilman Donald Henderson put a motion on the table to fly the US flag every day of the year, 24 hours a day. That schedule would mean an end to the Cougar flags which were posted on the city’s downtown street light standards at the start of the football season.

The Cougar flags were posted in late August, removed and replaced by US flags over the Labor Day weekend. They were then returned to the Main Street standards before the Sept. 8 season grid debut at a revamped Martin Stadium.

The flags, which were provided by WSU, were then removed from the street light poles after the game and were absent again early this week with the WSU homecoming game slated against Colorado in a PAC-12 opener Saturday afternoon at Martin Stadium.

Before making his motion Monday, Henderson said he had received numerous calls from veterans and others who felt the city should be flying the US flag. Henderson’s motion was seconded by Jeannette Solimine.

After some discussion, she moved to table the motion until a later date so the council would have more time to consider it. Because the motion received a second, it will have to eventually go to a vote.

After Henderson made the motion, Councilman David Nails said he would like to know what the procedure would be maintaining and cleaning the flags. He recalled the efforts by Bill Myers of Colfax who volunteered hours of time in posting, cleaning and maintaining US flags along Main Street.

Mayor Todd Vanek pointed out the reason for posting the WSU flags was to present a positive welcome to WSU students and fans with the idea of getting some to stop and do business in Colfax.

“The idea was to generate some positiveness,” the mayor explained.

Henderson said he and other veterans feel if the city was going to make an effort to fly a flag, it should be an American flag in lieu of any other flag.

The “Stop in Colfax” effort also included a banner sign featuring a photo of Colfax police officers. The sign, which was placed on the end of the JJ Building Supplies storage building just south of the N. Main bridge of the S. Palouse river, was removed after a brief posting.

Chief Rick McNannay said the intent was to display the banner sign at different times during the year. The sign is intended to offset the Colfax “speed trap” reputation.

Mayor Vanek said the sign was going to be posted again Tuesday night for homecoming traffic.

Henderson Monday said he understood the reason for posting the WSU flags, but he noted a lot of the Cougar football fans never saw the flags because they traveled other routes. He pointed out the efforts by the state and WSU to encourage game traffic southbound on Highway 195 to use an alternate route on Highways 271 and 27. Signs have been posted before the S. Rosalia bypass to advise fans of the alternate route.

Also, fans approaching Pullman from the west side of the state on Highway 26 use the Airport Road bypass which hooks back into Highway 195 via Fairview and S. Main, south of the Main Street flag display.

The US flags which were flown over the Labor Day weekend were owned by the Colfax VFW chapter and have been stored in the Plymouth Congregational Church, according to Henderson. He estimated the chapter had about 65 of the flags. Henderson, Mayor Vanek, City Administrator Carl Thompson and Parks Superintendent Steve Larkin put up the US flags as volunteers.

Councilman Jim Kackman suggested Henderson’s motion for 24-7 display of the US flag could be amended for display of the flag on designated national holidays.