Flag's disappearance questioned

Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Board member Laurin Goldner sent an email to Public Works Director Juan Florensa June 15, inquiring why the American flag that flies in Bicentennial Park had disappeared.

The news was a surprise to Florensa, who discovered his staff had taken down the flag because the light that shines on the flagpole at night was not turtle-season friendly.

Despite the news, Goldner suggested town staff should at least raise the flag during the morning and take it down at dusk.

“That flag was placed there as memorial to those who have served this country,” Goldner wrote. “I would think that the town would find some way to respect and honor those who served, by raising the flag, during the day, at a memorial that was erected to honor them. I would also suspect that if the town cannot get the flag up and down everyday, that there are some veterans who live here that might figure out a way.”

Florensa promised he would correct the problem and told Goldner in a June 24 e-mail that a special light bulb had been purchased and the flag is back in place.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].