Veterans committee urges Yanceyville council to fly separate service flags at Public Safety Memorial

Fred Smith, co-chair of the Caswell County Veterans Memorial Committee, told the Yanceyville Town Council during public comment that veterans want separate service flags for emergency medical services, law enforcement and fire/rescue at the town's Public Safety Memorial. "Let us hoist these flags to give better honor to our EMS, Sheriff Department, and to our Firefighters," Smith said.

Smith noted the Veterans Memorial project was built "without any tax dollars" and is nearly complete; he said the memorial and the Public Safety Memorial sit about 126 feet apart and that a single American flag on the Veterans Memorial leaves the service memorial less visible. He told council he had been approached by several veterans and local VFW and American Legion members who are concerned about the current flag arrangement and said some veterans were prepared to attend the meeting to register complaints.

Smith asked council to change the flag display and to set a date for a dedication. Mayor Alvin Foster thanked Smith for his remarks; council did not take immediate formal action during the meeting on the flag request.

The issue was raised as public comment rather than an agenda item, so any formal change to flags or a dedication date would require council action at a future meeting or through administrative direction. The memorial committee’s funding for the Veterans Memorial, Smith said, comes from committee fundraising rather than town tax dollars.