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By TOM McLAUGHLIN
315-4435 | @TomMnwfdn
tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com
Posted Jul. 28, 2015 at 5:14 PM
Updated Jul 28, 2015 at 8:22 PM
Walton County has decided to replace the Confederate Flag flying at its courthouse with another Southern banner flown during the Civil War.
County commissioners voted 4-0 to remove the controversial Stars and Bars, a battle flag first flown by the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
It will be replaced with the first national flag of the Confederate States of America.
Commissioners Sara Comander and Cindy Meadows offered the second flag as a compromise. Commissioner Cecilia Jones was not present.
But those who spent the last month advocating for removal of the flag, which flies over a courthouse memorial to Confederate dead, called it a cop out.
“We’ve gone from a symbol of segregation to a symbol of slavery,” said attorney Daniel Uhlfelder, the first to petition county commissioners to remove the Confederate flag. “We’re moving backwards.”
The new flag features two red stripes divided by a white stripe and 13 white stars of a background of blue.
Adopted in 1861, the flag was flown over the dome of the first Confederate Ca
itol in Montgomery, Ala., according to Internet sources.
Also known as the Stars and Bars, the Confederate States of America flag made a brief appearance on the battlefield, until it was discovered it looked similar enough to the Union Stars and Stripes to confuse soldiers on both sides.
The vote to accept the second Confederate flag followed three hours of discussion during which about 60 people stood to advocate for or against removing the first one.
Commissioners took control of the debate at nearly noon.
It appeared that Comander’s original motion to accept the second flag would be defeated by Commissioner Bill Chapman’s option of doing away with Confederate flags on public ground all together.
“We need to remove the flag and put it in a place of honor in a museum. It should be removed from government property. Government property is for all the people,” he said.
Chapman acknowledged before making his motion that such a stance could hinder his chances for re-election.
“I told you three-and-a-half years ago I was going to do what was right,” he said.
Commissioner Cindy Meadows, however, managed to sway her fellows with an argument that outside forces were behind the divisiveness the flag discussion had created in Walton County.
“This issue has been pushed on us to divide us and promote an agenda,” she said. “And before you say otherwise, look at us now. It’s worked.”
She said the best way to repair harm done by the divisive flag dispute was to compromise and fly the second flag.
“The compromise position is the way to go,” she said. “No one wins and no one loses.”Following the vote, Norm Fowler, commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Panama City chapter, said he could live with the compromise.“That’s probably the best you’re gonna do,” he said.The commission did choose to overlook an offer from county resident Jillian Wolfe to remove the flag and the Confederate memorial and put them on her family’s property near the county’s first courthouse in Eucheeanna., which is between DeFuniak Springs and Freeport.The NAACP was well represented at Tuesday’s meeting and warned the commission of the potential economic impact a decision to keep the Confederate flag flying could have on the county.After the vote Dale Landry, a vice president of the Florida State Conference NAACP, said he intended to ask the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce to cancel a scheduled convention in Sandestin.“We’ll tell them this is an essentially unsafe place for people of diverse ethnicity,” Landry said. “Confederate flags are about exclusion, not about inclusion.” Landry also said he intends to talk to Fed Ex Ground, which has just announced plans to open a major distribution operation in Mossy Head.“They’re not going to bring in business where there is division,” he said.Flag supporter Danny Glidewell said the flag debate had reopened long closed wounds in Walton County, particularly in the northern area of the county he calls home.He said he believes the commission’s Tuesday decision is the “best solution to satisfy the largest number of people.”“It was a courageous stand for the commissioners present,” he said.Glidewell said he wasn’t too worried about threats from the NAACP.“I don’t like being threatened,” he said. “And if they think they’re going to get anything from the people of Walton County by threatening them, they’ve got another thing coming.”