Flag flap: St. Clair Township takes down damaged flag — after spat and call to locksmith

An American flag that had flown in a tattered manner in front of the St. Clair Township office in Swansea has been taken down.

Over the last few days, St. Clair Township Trustee Keith Sturgis had complained that the flag was not flying properly, as the bottom clasp attached to the pole had broken. The flag couldn’t be lowered down because it was locked into place, and a road district employee, who had been laid off amid a budget standoff, was the only person who had a key.

Township Supervisor Dave Barnes asked Highway Commissioner Skip Kernan for the key or to call his employee with the key.

Kernan told the News-Democrat he called the employee, but figured it wouldn’t do any good. Kernan said he expected the employee would say he was laid off, and wouldn’t bring in the key or say where it was located.

On Tuesday, Barnes said he received an angry phone call from a constituent about the flag. Barnes spoke to Kernan again about the key, but Kernan’s workers had not responded to his calls.

Barnes decided to take care of the flag himself.

“I said, ‘Forget it; I’ll do it,’” Barnes said. “I can’t let a flag hang in disgrace.”

He called a locksmith to open the lock that prevented the flag from being lowered.

The cost of the locksmith’s 20 minutes of work has yet to be finalized, Barnes said.

However, he added that he received an email saying a veteran would pay the locksmith’s bill.

Kernan said he was happy to hear the flag was taken down, but wondered why he had to try to fix the situation.

“How come it’s my responsibility? How come it’s not his?” Kernan said, referring to Barnes. “No one told me I was responsible for the flag.”

Kernan said he has tended to road issues himself during the budget standoff, such as personally putting up barricades to block off a street with a cave-in.

“I didn’t get elected to raise flags,” Kernan said. “I got elected to handle streets.”

This story was originally published March 29, 2016 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Flag flap: St. Clair Township takes down damaged flag — after spat and call to locksmith."