Fr. BOC Considering Ordinance to Protect New Veterans Memorial Park

A Franklin County citizen is asking the County to do something about people putting up advertising signs and banners at the new Veterans Memorial Park in Carnesville.

At their work session Tuesday evening, the Board heard from Richard Roberts.

Roberts, who rides with the Patriot Guards, said he was at the park Monday and saw a business sign attached to one of the flag poles there.

“I had come up to the memorial park to see where we would be putting out flags for the Memorial Day celebration. When I got there I noticed someone had put up a sign on the backside of the flag poles. I got very upset and took them down,” he said.

Roberts tells WLHR News he’s been told by other people that they have seen banners and signs posted at the memorial site as well.

He told the Commission that the memorial is a sacred place where citizens can honor those who have given their lives to protect our freedoms and nothing else but the memorial itself should be there.

“We do have Gold Star families in this county that lost loved ones during the war on terror. And if that Gold Star family would have seen that, how would that make you feel seeing that memorial degraded? And I’m just pleading with you to please do something about it,” he said.

Roberts then asked them to consider instituting some kind of County ordinance banning any advertising or any other kind of signs or banners from the park.

“I think we need to come up some kind of ordinance to ban any kind of signs or banners around the Memorial Park or the First Responder Memorial once it’s finished. And I would like to recommend a fine of at least $250 if caught doing it,” he added.

Commission chair Jason Macomson asked if there was something already on the books and County Manager Derrick Turner said he would check into it but he didn’t think so.

Macomson suggested also checking the State Code of Ordinances to see if there was something there.

“We’re going to look into that. We need to make sure there is something to address that issue; especially since we know from the direct evidence who it is. We appreciate bringing it to our attention,” he said.