Officer Committed To Proper Send-Off For Worn Out American Flags
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THE COLONY (CBS11) - Tattered, torn and tossed away.
They might be worn and unusable, but American flags deserve a proper send-off in their age.
At least one North Texas police officer is making sure Old Glory gets the respect it deserves.
"I take great pride in my country. I take great pride where I live," said Officer Kyle Koiner with The Colony Police Department.
Koiner flies his flag every day and it shows.
"As you can see it's starting to get a little frayed right there and ripped up," said Koiner.
When it was time for a new one, Koiner knew he had to dispose of it in a respectful way.
"Throwing it away is pretty disgraceful," said Koiner.
Not knowing exactly what to do, Koiner remembered there was a box tucked in the corner at City Hall.
"I walked by it there not too long ago and was like, 'oh now I know what to do with my flag'," said Koiner.
Officially, it is the "Flag Dropoff" box. It is a place to retire Old Glory respectfully.
"People are surprised we have it," said Koiner.
From large flags flying high above the ground, to smaller ones folks can wave in their hand, the City of The Colony takes them all.
"It's frustrating but people don't know, I'm not going to be ignorant and say, 'Yeah, you're doing something bad,'" said Jeremy Jordan with the American Legion Holley-Riddle Post 21.
Jordan is one of the folks who empties the box once it is full.
"The American Legion is not all about a bunch of old guys sitting around a bar drinking beer," said Jordan.
On Flag Day, the American Legion in The Colony hosts a special ceremony and burn the flags one by one.
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