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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (July 22, 2015)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL July 22, 2015 11A F LAG Continued from page 8A The South Valley Cheer Team struck a patriotic pose on Saturday morning. CG's Liz Payton (adult at far left) said the Lil Senoritas Drill Team has been performing at BMD at least since she performed in Cottage Grove over 30 years ago. O N P ARADE ! Highlights from the Grand Miner's and Kiddie Parades photos by Jon Stinnett be seen on the backs of some fair-goers, who donned it as a sort of cape. “Since they called for the ban on the fl ag, we’ve been selling it like crazy,” Moody said. Dur- ing the various events Moody attended with his wife in the last few years, he said the Gadsden or “Don’t Tread on Me” fl ag has been the best seller until this summer, when the Confeder- ate fl ag became far and away the hottest item. The going rate for a fl ag was about $12, and Moody said the fl ag has ac- counted for about 90 percent of recent sales. Which is not to say that ev- eryone at Bohemia Mining Days appreciated the fl ag’s inclusion in the festivities. “I saw it and left,” said Cot- tage Grove’s Suzy Kanich. “It made me feel shocked and sad, and I didn’t feel like being there after that.” Festival organizers said that other fair-goers expressed simi- lar sentiments and that they fi elded several complaints about the fl ag, and Moody himself said he received death threats this weekend regarding his de- cision to sell it. “We’re tired of people telling us what we can and can’t do,” his wife said. “They’re calling it a hate fl ag, but the only people we’re seeing hate from are the ones that don’t like it.” Eric Johnson, president of BMD’s Board of Directors, said Above: As has seemingly become a Kiddie Parade tradition, the kids from Great Days Early Education Center lead the way on Friday morning. E NGINES Above right: Members of the Cottage Grove Riding Club march down Main Street. gines,” he said. “You hear them humming along because they only fi re when they need to. A lot of them were made to be pulled on carts with horses, and they were designed to do all the jobs that were formerly per- formed by horses — pumping water, crushing rock, etc.” Barrong said there was a lot of interest in the old machines at this year’s festival, with young and old stopping by to take a Right: Sue Flint takes a bit of a joyride along with Barnabas at the Grand Miners Parade. Continued from page 8A he approached Moody and po- litely asked him to take down the Confederate fl ag from his booth. Johnson said Moody politely declined. Johnson later outlined the Board’s decision not to take action to remove the fl ag on a Cottage Grove-based group page on Facebook: “By law, the booth owner has First-Amendment rights to fl y the fl ag on public property,” Johnson wrote. “BMD, regard- less of personal opinion, did not want to take on any free speech lawsuit that might arise by mak- ing a decision to silence one person over another. We are all volunteers and do not have the time or the money to take on such a lawsuit.” Johnson suggested that those who do not like seeing the Con- federate fl ag in public take it up with their elected representa- tives. “…ask them to outlaw the fl ag as hate speech,” he wrote. “That would allow us to take it down legally. Until that time, we are not going to infringe on anybody’s rights. As a Board, we do not agree or disagree with the many and varied viewpoints of our patrons. We only strive to create a fun and FREE fes- tival for the citizens of Cottage Grove.” Johnson said the BMD board will have a conversation in the near future about whether to invite vendors that sell the Con- federate fl ag back to the festival or whether the Festival can re- fuse to do so. look and have a listen. And per- haps one or two visitors caught the affl iction that Brown said he’s lived with for some time. “We have a sickness, an ad- diction to old iron,” he said. $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM Our Community Newspaper since 1889 SOUTH LANE COUNTY FIRE & RESCUE SAVE MONEY. SAVE LIVES. Ground Ambulance Memberships $65 per year Ground Ambulance & Air Membership $110 per year Call 541-942-4493 for info. FOR EMERGENCY DIAL 911 Serving South Lane County.
