Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
PALOUSE – The Palouse City Council's policy and administration committee was set to meet Tuesday night after flags flown over the weekend capped days of discussion about whether one particular flag should have been.
The Palouse Lions Club has put up American flags and those of the five military branches and more, in recent years on Memorial Day, Flag Day and Veterans Day. In the past five years, they added the Thin Blue Line flag – which was created to honor fallen police – and has since been used in the Blue Lives Matter movement, as a counter to Black Lives Matter.
The city council discussed the issue June 9 after receiving four letters from residents asking that the Thin Blue Line flag not be flown on taxpayer property.
The Lions Club gave a statement to the city that they "see no reason to remove a flag that honors our local and national law enforcement officials."
The council on the ninth talked about ways to uphold the First Amendment while being sensitive to and looking out for people of color, as stated by Mayor Chris Cook.
No agreement was reached on possible alternatives.
"While I find it extremely important that we honor those who serve our communities, I find it equally important that we are sensitive and welcoming to all," Cook told the Gazette later. "That said, all city actions and policies moving forward should seek to find flags/symbols that bring us together as a community rather than pull us apart."
The city has no set flag policy.
After discussion, city councilman Steve Alred moved to suspend flags flown before the city institutes a flag policy. The motion failed, followed by a motion from Councilman Bill Slinkard that the council request the Lions Club only fly the U.S. flag, the Washington State flag and the POW/MIA flag until a policy is adopted.
Alred seconded the motion and it passed.
"It's a perception issue, as well," said Kyle Dixon, city administrator, to the Gazette. "Obviously with everything going on nationwide, there is a heightened awareness to what municipalities do."
The Lions Club looks now to continue its tradition, with possible alteration to come.
"For our part, if the city decides which flags can and can't be flown, we'll abide by the rules," said Damon Estes, Palouse Lions president. "But we had four people complain and a bunch of people that didn't. So we're not gonna change over four e-mails."
Lions response
Previous club president Ken Alsterlund (until June 11) was notified June 4 about the flag complaints. He went down to city hall and talked with Dixon, who offered to replace the Thin Blue Line flag with another flag in a similar vein, such as the National Law Enforcement Memorial flag.
Alsterlund called a Lions Club board meeting that night.
About 20 of the club's 30 members met in the American Legion Hall above city hall.
They talked about the matter and voted to issue a statement to go before the city council.
After the city council meeting, the Lions met two days later at Hayton Greene Park, an evening in which they invited five graduating seniors from Garfield/Palouse High School to give presentations vying for annual Lions Club scholarships.
"We did all the social-distancing crap and all that," Alsterlund said.
Meeting afterward, the club voted to go ahead with plans for Flag Day.
"Friday night, the flags went up," said Alsterlund.
Hanging from light poles and utility poles, they stretched from the park to the city welding shop at the other end of Main Street.
In total, 31 American flags, five military flags, one for firefighters, one for Thin Blue Line, one for EMS, one for POW/MIA and another for "I Support the Troops" were put up. The Thin Blue Line flag flew from a light pole in front of the grocery store.
The flags were taken down Monday, as is usual after a weekend of display.
Did the Lions hear anything further from the city?
"I have not," Alsterlund said, an Army veteran. "We are not in a fight with the city. They have been very nice to us, nobody's fighting."
The flag
The Thin Blue Line design, a black and white American flag with one blue line, is seen as a symbol of support for law enforcement by many, and one of dismissiveness by others, in light of calls nationwide for police reform after charges of excessive force.
"My whole thing is we've put up the flag for five years and no one had a problem before this," said Estes. "There were no politics involved, to my knowledge. We can't control who adopts what flag. We were flying it for law enforcement, not for Blue Lives Matter or against Black Lives Matter."
Will there by a new city flag policy before the Fourth of July?
"I don't know," said Mayor Cook. "That's a good question. I would hope so, but I'd rather get it right than rush it."
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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