Flying a tattered United States flag not only offends the patriotic, it also can result in fines for code violation in at least one city.

Woodstock Mayor Donnie Henriques said the city's code enforcement officers take reports of less than glorious flag displays seriously, especially given a new initiative for their proper disposal.

"We'll get them to take them down," Henriques said, noting he could recall only one instance when the city had to intervene and that was for a business that had ceased operations, but left ragged flags up.

The Ninth District of the American Legion, which covers all of Cherokee County, recently acquired 200 post office dropoff boxes from the U.S. Postal Service.

The familiar blue post office boxes are being repainted and relabeled to perform a new duty: collecting old flags to be properly retired. The Legion as well as organizations such as the Boy Scouts and some fire departments are trained to properly retire flags through a special burning ceremony.

Two of the new dropoff boxes now are installed in Woodstock, with plans for more to be located in Canton. The two Woodstock boxes, set up by Legion South Cherokee Post 316, are in front of Woodstock City Hall on Arnold Mill Road and at Woodstock Community Church on Main Street.

Painted red, white and blue with the Legion seal on one side, the boxes can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There is no charge to drop off a flag to be retired.

So far, 35 flags have been collected through the new boxes in Woodstock, post Commander Michael Sarris said. The Canton post already receives six to eight flags a month, which likely will increase once its new dropoff boxes are ready.

"We want to make the community aware of how to dispose of flags properly," Sarris said. "Our ceremony shows respect for the flag."

The post's vice commander, George Wallace, said he hopes the boxes will put an end to shabby displays and improper disposal of flags.

"Some people don't know what to do about them - now they do," he said.

bjacoby@cherokeetribune.com

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