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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2016)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JULY 1, 2016 Have we lowered the bar on lowering the lag? The honor has been extended widely over time By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK — Nearly every day, somewhere in the country, the Stars and Stripes was lowered to half-staff last year in one of the most signii- cant oficial gestures of mourn- ing and respect, an Associated Press analysis found. The centuries-old prac- tice can be a visible, public answer to extraordinary loss, as when more than four dozen people were killed last month at a gay nightclub in Florida. But as the nation marks Inde- pendence Day on Monday, lag buffs have noted that the honor has been extended more widely over time, including to celebrities and police dogs. And some have questioned whether the country has low- ered the bar on the lowering of the lag. “It can be a very power- ful symbol, but it can also be overdone to the point that it loses its signiicance,” said John Hartvigsen, president of the North American Vexillo- logical Association, a lag ai- cionados’ group. “You can’t spell everything out about this in rules and regulations, because it has so much to do with emotion.” The U.S. Flag Code allows presidents and governors to lower lags for oficials, mil- itary members and certain occasions, though some states have their own broader poli- cies. And even as some states have moved to tighten their rules, others faced criticism for withholding the tribute. Lowered 328 days in 2015 The AP’s analysis of proc- lamations from 50 state gov- ernors and the federal gov- ernment found the Stars and Stripes were lowered at least someplace in the country on 328 days during 2015. Eight states had orders low- ering the U.S. lag in effect over more than 30 days; Mas- AP Photo/J. David Ake Flags fly at half-staff around the Washington Monument at daybreak in Washington on June 13, by order of President Obama, the day after more than four dozen people were killed in the Orlando, Fla., nightclub shootings. As the nation marks Independence Day on Monday, lowering the flag remains a visible, immediate way to pay tribute in hours of tragedy, but flag buffs have noted that the honor has been extended more widely over time, and they and other Americans have questioned whether the country has lowered the bar on the lowering the flag. sachusetts led all others, keep- ing the lag at half-staff for over a quarter of the year, including on the Fourth of July. Among the hundreds hon- ored were victims of extrem- ist attacks, fallen soldiers, long-serving politicians and such celebrities as baseball legend Yogi Berra. Those honored last year alone with a half-staff U.S. lag include ive Georgia South- ern University nursing stu- dents killed in a car wreck and a Downey, California, police oficer shot in his car in a police parking lot in an alleged robbery attempt. Flags were lowered for a Missouri state oficial who was running for governor when he killed him- self after a radio ad mocked his appearance, and for an Okla- homa state road worker who died helping to ill a sinkhole. One honoree was a police dog shot in Ohio. Controversial honors Who gets honored, and when, can be controversial. Recent years saw tension over lowering lags nationwide for former South African Pres- ident Nelson Mandela and in New Jersey for the Gram- my-winning Whitney Hous- ton . Seeing half-staff lags on July Fourth last year jarred Amherst, Massachusetts, res- ident Larry Kelley, who felt the tribute — part of a 13-day honor for a state senator — “sends the wrong message” on the nation’s birthday. “It just seemed to me to take away from the whole idea of lowering the lag,” said Kel- ley, adding that he’d have felt differently if the state were mourning a line-of-duty death or major public trauma. He ini- tially didn’t even realize what the occasion was, until a reader of his local-issues blog illed him in. Concerned that lowering lags frequently muted the impact, Kentucky decided in 2008 to recognize fallen local military members only on their burial days. Colorado established rules a few years ago spelling out what cate- gories of people are honored statewide, including military members, state oficials and police and ireighters who die on duty. “It’s such an honor and a recognition for people, you never want to say no. But you can’t always say yes,” said Kathy Green, a spokeswoman for Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper. “So we had to set some parameters.” Setting limits But setting limits can be thorny. Even denying lag honors to a convicted felon didn’t ly in Rhode Island. Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo initially declined to lower lags this year for longtime former Prov- idence Mayor Buddy Cianci, a Republican-turned-indepen- dent who’d been convicted of corruption. Amid an out- cry from Cianci fans, Rai- mondo changed her mind “out of respect for the ofice he held for 20 years.” Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, took heat for not lowering lags after three local Marines were killed in a March 2015 helicopter crash during training off Florida. State pol- icy reserved the honor for those killed in combat, but after vet- erans’ groups complained, Sny- der reversed course. To Wayne Luznicky, a Viet- nam War veteran who leads the Marine Corps League’s Grand Rapids detachment, the episode encapsulated muddled impulses about who gets hon- ored and who doesn’t. “Where are the priorities?” he asked. Looking at the uneven land- scape, the Pittsburgh-based National Flag Foundation plans to craft half-staff guide- lines to circulate to governors. Still, even experts say lag etiquette is, to some extent, a personal code. “The way you honor the lag,” Hartvigsen said, “is the way you live as a citizen.” Seal pups: Selies with them also a problem Continued from Page 1A State wildlife oficials had to euthanize one harbor seal pup last month after a woman picked it up on a beach in West- port, Washington, and appar- ently carried it back to a house in a shopping tote. The animal was unresponsive and lethargic, Milstein said. Another couple found a seal pup on the beach in Garibaldi, Oregon, and fearing the ani- mal was abandoned, wrapped the seal in a beach towel, put it in their car and placed it in their shower at home, said Kris- tin Wilkinson, a NOAA Fisher- ies regional stranding coordi- nator. Wildlife oficers returned that seal to the beach, but it was discovered dead the next day, she said. That couple received a written warning. In California last year, there were at least 60 cases where peo- ple either illegally picked up or fed marine mammals, said Jus- tin Greenman, NOAA’s assis- tant stranding coordinator for the state. Some of those animals were re-released; others died in care or had to be euthanized. Selies with seals or sea lions are also a growing problem, he added. People’s impulse is to rush in and help, but it’s better to let nature run its course, Wilkin- son said. The risk in taking baby seals off the beach is that adult seals may abandon them. “The best chance they have to survive is to stay wild,” she said. Last month, in a case that gar- nered national attention, a Cana- dian man and his son loaded a bison calf into their SUV at Yel- lowstone National Park because they thought it was an aban- doned newborn that would die without their help. The calf later had to be euthanized because it couldn’t be reunited with its herd. “This is our Northwest ver- sion, apparently,” Milstein said. NOAA Fisheries has launched a “Share the Shore” campaign to remind beachgo- ers to leave marine mammals NEW 2016 RAM 1500 ST QUAD 5.7L V8 Hemi. CAB 4X4 Marc Myrsell/Westport Aquarium A baby seal is seen laying across a shopping tote used to carry it off a beach in Westport, Wash. State wildlife of- ficials had to euthanize the harbor seal pup after it was determined to be unresponsive and lethargic. alone, to stay at least 100 yards away and reduce other distur- bances, such as keeping dogs on leashes. It’s illegal to harass, dis- turb or try to move young seals or other marine mammals. Wilkinson said they typically see six to 10 illegal animal han- dling cases a year, but this year they’re seeing them earlier in the season and within a wider area. Harbor seal pups are born along the West Coast, typically from February to May in Cali- fornia and from spring to late summer in the Northwest. They use beaches, docks and other shoreline areas to rest, regulate their body temperatures or wait for their mothers, who typically are nearby but may not come near the pups if there are too many disturbances. Dr. Jeff Boehm, executive director of The Marine Mammal Center in Northern California, said so far this year 18 marine mammals have been brought to his center because they were harassed or illegally picked up. Most were eventually released into the wild after being treated but three have died. “These animals have an innate charm. When you see one on the beach, they just draw you in. They’re small. They’re vulnerable,” he said, but peo- ple should really pause, take a step back and call local author- ities who know best what to do with them. NOAA wildlife oficers in Washington are investigating a number of cases, including one in which a seal pup born prema- turely parked up on the beach and a homeowner placed the animal in a tote and removed it, worried about bald eagles prey- ing on the seal and making a mess on the beach, Wilkinson said. Last month, a seal wasn’t illegally picked up but the pup was killed after wildlife oficials determined that too much trafic and people on the beach meant that the mother was not likely to reunite with her pup. In another case, a woman picked up a seal and briely put it in her car before someone else told her to put the animal back on the beach, said Marc Myrsell, who directs the Westport Aquar- ium and whose staff responded to that incident. That pup returned to the water on its own. Last week, a pup was han- dled so extensively at a beach park that wildlife responders determined the constant human interaction permanently sepa- rated the pup from its mother. People held the pup in their laps, cuddled it and pet the animal for many hours, she added. That seal was eventually taken to a rehabilitation facility. 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