Workers take U.S. flag to armory for disposal

July 27, 2005

A distressed U.S. flag displayed upside down at a county dump near Woodville received its due Tuesday.

Employees took the flag to the National Guard armory in Porterville for disposal, said Jeff Monaco, solid waste manager for the Tulare County Resource Management Agency.

He thanked U.S. Navy veteran Raul Madrid for bringing the flag issue to the facility's attention. Madrid saw the flag Monday when he made several trips to the dump.

"We certainly didn't mean any disrespect," he said. "It was motivated by the opposite. It was good intentions gone bad."

A dump employee found the flag among trash. He decided to fly it on a makeshift plastic flagpole, Monaco said.

"It's unfortunate that a member of the public had disposed of the flag in that way," he said. "The equipment operator at least knew that it was not appropriate for the flag to be in the garbage."

If employees see another flag in the garbage, they will follow county procedures and take it immediately to the local Veterans Affairs office for proper disposal, Monaco said.

"This has been a good opportunity for public education about how to treat the flag," he said.

Employees were reluctant to take down the flag because it was symbolic for them, Monaco said.

"I think they honestly liked seeing the official U.S. flag flying at their workplace," he said.

Monaco said he is considering having a flag fly properly over the facility.

The reporter can be reached at atan@visalia. gannett.com.

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