KEEP IT TO YOURSELF (Town Major BANS all public displays of Patriotism!)

The Trentonian ^ | March 28, 2003 | Deborah Cannonie, Staff Writer

[vannrox]

KEEP IT TO YOURSELF

Deborah Cannonie, Staff Writer
March 28, 2003

FIELDSBORO -- Diane Johnson found out the hard way that yellow ribbons make Mayor Edward "Buddy" Tyler see red.

The borough mayor supports the council?s unanimous vote to outlaw any ribbons or other memorials for the American troops fightingin Iraq, if those ribbons are placed on public property because the government doesn?t want them there.

"I?m shocked and outraged," Johnson said. "I can?t believe the mayor would force me to take down ribbons put there in honor of American troops, fighting for our freedom in Iraq."

Johnson and her husband David own Hegyi?s Liquor Store, the second prominent landmark on the way into tiny Fieldsboro from Route 130, with a population of 1,222. The first landmark is a huge sign directly in front of the liquor store that says "Entering the Boro of Fieldsboro, Incorporated 1865."

It was on the painted sign and on a fledgling tree that Johnson hung yellow ribbons "about the size of a dinner plate," she said. "They were made of all-weather ribbon, and they looked really nice. They didn?t obstruct the sign in any way, and a lot of people with family members in the war came into the store to tell me how seeing the ribbons gave them a lift."

But yesterday, several days after the ribbons were hung, Johnson got the word from the mayor via a township maintenance man: "Take down the ribbons, or I?ll do it for you."

"I didn?t want to get fined, so I took them down," Johnson said, visibly upset. "There are mothers in town who have sons over there. You think he?d be a little bit sensitive to them."

It wasn?t just the mayor?s edict: Four of the borough?s six council members took a vote on the matter. Tyler said that the council members, present at a budget meeting last week, voted unanimously to make Johnson take down the ribbons, or have the town do it if she refused.

"Yes, it?s true," said Tyler, who said he had received a complaint about the ribbons.

The mayor said he initially didn?t think the yellow ribbon controversy was "a big deal," but after some thought, he said he agreed with compelling Johnson to remove the ribbon memorial.

"Where would you draw a line if you started allowing the use of public property to exhibit whatever cause anyone wanted?" Tyler said. "Suppose someone wants to tie pink ribbons, or black flags, or a Confederate flag or a Nazi flag on public property?"

The issue, Tyler said, had nothing to do with support for the troops in Iraq. "We certainly recommend that people should exhibit their support," he said. "Just do it on your own property, not on borough property."

A decorated Vietnam veteran, Stan Stimpson, who has lived in Fieldsboro for 50 years, just shook his head.

"It?s unbelievable the mayor would do something like this. I have an American flag on my property, and I have a ribbon from Diane that I put on the top of the flagpole," Stimpson said. "Citizens should support our troops. They are fighting for us.

"I hope that?s one lesson we learned from Vietnam." Things were different in the borough after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, David Johnson said.

"The whole town went flag-crazy then," he said. "My wife put red, white and blue flags out then."

But not on the town?s welcome sign.

Tyler emphasized how important the rule of law with the Iraq situation, and said he didn?t support the American attack against Saddam Hussein.

"We should have had the support of the United Nations. I?m not waving flags either way," he said. "I don?t support this war."

Tyler, a Democrat, has been a colorful, controversial mayor for four non-consecutive terms.

Partisan politics, though, had nothing to do with the governing body?s decision to get rid of the ribbons, Tyler insisted, although he noted that the Johnsons "are Republicans."

All six members of the borough council are solidly Democrat.

"The whole thing absolutely gets me in my gut," Diane Johnson said. "I still can?t believe the mayor would be against this, and that the council would actually vote to get rid of the ribbons.

"As far as I know, we?re not a Gestapo police state," she said, "but they?re sure acting like it."

[vannrox]

I did an FR search and could not find this.

[Bigg Red]

All six members of the borough council are solidly Democrat.


That is such surprising information.....

[bybybill]

This is an outrage

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

So leaders of this are PRO-TERRORISTS!

[scooter2]

These vermin are elected officials. Can you say, "Recall"?

[jpl]

New Jersey sure has turned into a wacky place in recent years. Stuff like this, and that virulent America-hating communist Amiri Baraka is still the state's official "Poet Laureate".

[Arpege92]

I suggest the people of this town vote these Demorats out of office next time!

[Howlin]

*Sigh*

[TLBSHOW]

Sounds like this commie rat mayor is in for the Freep of a lifetime.

[Paul Atreides]

It's telling how he lumps in the yellow ribbon and Confederate flag with a Nazi flag.

[Protagoras]

"We certainly recommend that people should exhibit their support," he said. "Just do it on your own property, not on borough property."

I agree with that. I guess it makes me a commie or some other anti American. Or not.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Traitors among us, disguised as reasonable men.

All I can say is, the city residents have gotten the government they deserve. I have no sympathy for them.

[general_re]

That's because Hizzoner really doesn't understand the difference between those things, obviously due to his IQ of 14 - all colorful fabric thingies of any sort are now banned in town, because Da Mayor can't tell the difference between a yellow ribbon and a swastika.

On the one hand, I feel bad for the townspeople, because they're saddled with a mayor that makes mongoloid chimps look positively Einsteinian, but on the other hand, I don't - they went out and elected the dumb SOB, and now they're paying the price.

[BJungNan]

anyone have a phone number. time to rattle their phone lines.

[gcruse]

I wouldn't presume to hang a yellow ribbon (we won't mourn our way to victory, anyway. Fly the flag!) on the front of town hall or the fire station. What these people do on their own property is grand. If everybody felt compelled to festoon city property as an expression of solidarity with something or other, our towns would look like Mexican bazaars.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Thanks for stating the connection that dwelt in the back of my mind. To Clintonian Liberals, Old Glory and the Nazi Party flag are equivalent symbols of hatred and oppression. Just disgusting. Thanks for the reminder this scum still weild power.

[davisdoug]

Excuse me but this is the liberal mindset in a nutshell. Do it on your property but not borough property. WE AS CITIZENS OWN ALL GOVERNMENT PROPERTY. PAID FOR WITH OUR TAX DOLLARS AS ARE ALL SALARIES AND SERVICES. ALL YOUR BUILDINGS ARE BELONG TO US.

[PhilDragoo]

You can go to the home page and leave a comment on the article.

I did:

My dad served on USS Saratoga (CV-3) and my great-to-the-fifth grandfather served at Ft. Pitt against King George.

Only Tories and Tokyo Rose don't support our troops in wartime.

The mayor and city council are asinine beyond words.

They should be displayed in the town stocks.

[Happy Valley Dude]

	Fieldsboro Borough
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Municipal Building: 18 Washington St. (609) 298-6344

Mayor: Edward G. Tyler 15 Second St. (609) 298-7138 Council:

Michael Carroll 14 Delaware St. (609) 324-9411	Harold Cheesman 13 Lion's Lane (609) 298-8237
Gene Sullens 10 Front St. (609) 298-9332	Clinton Weaver 28 Front St. (609) 291-9103
Richard Lynch 44 E. Washington St. (609) 298-4151	Pete Federico 13 Fourth St. (609) 298-7956

.

Meets: 2nd Monday, 7 p.m.

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Clerk: Michele Immordino
Court clerk: Sharon Poinsett
Public safety director: Edward G. Tyler (acting)
Tax assessor: Walter G. Kosul
Tax collector: Lan Chen Shen

---

Board of education:
Bordentown Regional

President Gary R. Nucera	Vice President Anthony DiLemme
June Miller	Marion D. Cranmer
Debbie Burns	Dr. Gerald p. Nicholls
Joann Dansbury	Christine Trogdon
Julie Crowe (non-voting)
.

Meets: 2nd & 4th Wednesday, 8 p.m.
Bordentown Regional High School
50 Dunns Mill Road
Bordentown Township

Superintendent:  John Polomano, (609) 298-0025
Business administrator/board secretary: Peggy Ianoale, (609) 298-3066

Burlington County Library Website:
http://www.burlco.lib.nj.us/townships/fieldsboro/
Schools Website:
http://www.burlco.lib.nj.us/schools/bordentn.htm

 

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Copyright 1999, Calkins Newspapers Inc.

[bluecollarman]

Online with place to post your comment at bottom of page

I posted mine.