Flag etiquette spurs debate

Saratoga resident David Worthington voiced concerns he had about how the flags were displayed in the Saratoga Town Council chambers on May 21.

Worthington said, according to tradition and proper flag etiquette, the United States flag should be the only one with a war eagle ornament at the top when sitting next to state flags. The Wyoming and U.S. flags in the Saratoga council chambers both have war eagle ornaments.

Worthington first pointed out the flags were displayed incorrectly at a previous town council meeting, but brought it up again at the May 21 meeting before Memorial Day.

Mayor John Zeiger said he had conducted research indicating the flags in the Saratoga Town Council chambers were displayed correctly.

Zeiger pointed out the Wyoming and United States flags in the governor’s office also had the war eagle ornaments. Both flags in the Carbon County District Court room also have war eagle ornaments.

After listening to Zeiger, Worthington reiterated having a war eagle on both flags was wrong.

“My opinion is, if it’s OK with the governor’s office, I don’t have it a problem with it being done in Saratoga, but I’ll leave it up for discussion,” Zeiger said.

Zeiger then presented some online sources he looked into.

Zeiger read a response to a question he found on an online forum discussing flag ornaments.

“First, the U.S. flag code is silent on this issue. ‘It says nothing about the U.S. flag being able to take the eagle,’” Zeiger read from the online forum.

Zeiger also said the online forum mentioned the U.S. Military may have a policy regarding the display of war eagles, but that policy does not necessarily apply to civilians.

Worthington said displaying the flags correctly is all about tradition.

Councilman Steve Wilcoxson wrapped up the discussion about the flag issue by saying he felt the flags were displayed correctly.

“I don’t have a problem of what’s happening here at this point in time after listening to the research,” Councilman Steve Wilcoxon said gesturing to the flags on display in the council chambers.