Victory! Rangeview Libraries says “it was a mistake” not to fly the United States flag
July 1st, 2010
Coming soon to Anythink Libraries - The American Flag
The head of the Rangeview Library District Board of Trustees said this morning that its failure to install flagpoles and fly the American flag at its facilities was a mistake and the board intends to correct it.
Appearing on the Peter Boyles Show on KHOW, Kay Riddle said a special meeting of the Board of Trustees has been called and they are expected to approve the purchase and installation of flagpoles at all of their buildings.
Riddle said, “We made a mistake” and “We intend to fix that.”
As to why the flagpoles weren’t part of the original design specifications for the four new libraries, Riddle told Boyles it “fell through the cracks” and that they “didn’t think about it at the time.”
Ms. Riddle certainly said all the right things and we applaud the district for taking steps to fix the problem. As we have said for the past two weeks, had the district simply done as she did this morning and admitted their mistake and agreed to fix it, the issue would have been settled quietly and without the furor.
As far as funding the flagpoles goes, I believe the library district needs to pay for them with their existing funding. Private donors and citizens should not need to donate to the cause. In holding with long-standing tradition these items should have been installed in the first place and it is the district’s responsibility to shoulder the financial burden. After all, it is Adams County taxpayers who funded the construction to begin with.
In browsing through minutes from previous Board of Trustees’ meetings, I found this item in the April 2010 document:
“Great news from Josh Davis with our construction company who let us know they had done all their evaluations on the trends for the WF [Wright Farms] project and they would be returning $150,000 back to the District for the WF project.”
I read that to say that some part of the construction of the Wright Farms branch came in $150,000 under budget. Where is that money now? It appears to me to be a prime source of funding for new flagpoles. Problem solved.
We need to continue to monitor this in the background and ensure the board follows through on Ms. Riddle’s promises but for now this is a well-deserved victory for the people of Adams County.
The winners and losers on this issue can be identified pretty easily:
- Winners – The residents of Adams County, Colorado who demonstrated their love for their country and for the flag of the United States of America.
- Winner – Thornton Mayor Erik Hansen. Hansen was the only area politico to have guts enough to take a principled and public stance on the issue. The silence from the rest was deafening.
- Winner – Old Glory. May the Stars and Stripes forever wave!
- Loser – Rangeview Library District Board of Trustees. The board was made aware of the issue two weeks ago and chose not to act. Their failure is the reason the issue became so big and it reflects very poorly on them. Let us also not forget the root of the problem – their failure to ensure the flag was flown at the libraries in the first place.
- Loser – Adams County Commissioners. The commissioners appoint the Board of Trustees and yet not one of them came out and said a word publically.
A couple related notes on this issue:
As the site that first broke the news, it was TonysRants.com readers that pushed this issue forward and I thank all who took the time to call and email the library district. While such an outpouring should not have been required in the first place, it is heartening to see so many people care enough about properly honoring our nation’s most important symbol.
Special thanks go to Adams County resident Martin Mendez for bringing this issue to light.
Lastly, toward the end of the interview, Peter Boyles started to beat up on Ms. Riddle about the fact there are books in Spanish in the library and there were not any American flags. Rightfully so, Ms. Riddle said that was irrelevant to the discussion at hand and got a bit indignant. I understand immigration is one of Boyles’ pet issues but at that point Riddle had conceded the error of the libraries’ ways and the line of questioning really took away from the issue of the flags.
Complete coverage of the flag story from start to finish:
- Library district buys electric ball, fireplaces, big screen TVs – But not American flags
- Anythink Libraries under siege – Refusing to solve flag problem, media onslaught begins
- Video – Library remains noncommittal on correcting failure to install flagpoles
- Library district director long on talk, short on answers to flag flap
It is too bad it took a big hubub to get the library to wise up and admit their error. Shame on them!
Rangeview Libraries finished four new buildings in a little more than a year. Sounds like they might just be hitting the ground running every single day. The library promised voters two new buildings, 25,000 square feet each. Rangeview delivered almost double what they promised (four new buildings with almost twice the square footage promised) As a taxpaying American conservative, I feel pretty happy about a public institution making my dollar stretch! Absolutely, they should fly the flag. Absolutely, we should also give them credit where due.
In all this hubbub, a few questions about Tony have occurred to me. Just curiosities. Has Tony spoken with any of the businesses near Colorado & 120th about the condition of their flags? Should businesses be allowed to fly ratty flags without ‘rant’ because they are not public institutions? In other words, does Tony care about all American flags? Did Tony raise his concern with the library as a concerned citizen before he ‘ranted’? In other words, was Tony concerned solely about getting flags raised or was he more concerned about blog hits? Howard Stern, Don Imus and Rush Limbaugh sensationalize issues for ratings, often with inflammatory words. Is Tony’s interest in the number of visits to his blog influencing his motive in raising the flag issue? Will Tony be happy if the library complies with his wishes, or will he be unhappy regardless? Does Tony feel good when people point out his mistakes? Just curious.
I don’t often cite Wikipedia. Their source links on Rangeview Libraries seem alright. From what I have seen at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangeview_Library_District, it looks like they have made decades worth of improvement in a few short years. I imagine Tony likes it when people give him credit for good work. Maybe Tony can give them a ‘thumbs up’ for their hard and thrifty work.
John,
Thank you very much for commenting on the story. While you may not agree, I view this site as an open, public forum for the public to debate issues. This is something that is lacking in our community and I feel it is important and helps to educate and inform.
Let me just take your comments one by one…
Let us remember that the library district tried three times before the 2006 election for a tax increase and failed. No doubt dating back to the first failed attempt, the library district had plans on the board for the money and those were modified and updated for the 2006 success. My point is they had many years of planning so the insinuation that they put all this together in “a little more than a year” is inaccurate.
You are correct in that on the surface, the library district gave the tax payers more than what they expected. That is indeed good. It doesn’t however change the fact that in all those years of planning flags should have been thought of – before fireplaces, widescreen TVs and all sorts of other taxpayer funded expenditures. The mill levy is giving the district $6 million per year on top of the money they already get and it is absolutely our right to question how that money is spent.
I have indeed pointed out to businesses the need to properly maintain their flags. In fact, a few years ago I actually contacted one of our local veterans groups about how their flag was in need of replacement (that didn’t go over too well – haha). It is wrong to not properly fly the flag whether at a home, a business, a non-profit or a taxpayer funded entity.
Yup, got the same canned response everyone who complained did.
The number of hits to my site is of little concern and I don’t really pay any attention to them. If however I do get a boost from a posting and someone comes away more informed about an issue that is important to them or the community, that is a good thing and what really matters.
I derive satisfaction from the hope and knowledge that folks that come to my site walk away more informed, whether they agree or disagree. That is why I always provide links when possible to other media outlets with more information on the topic, even if it is a contrary view to my own. I just want folks to be informed. As I have written about before, we certainly can’t rely on Denver-based media to cover local news and issues important to us.
Of course I am happy that the library district did the right thing. It still baffles me as to why they felt fireplaces were more important than our nation’s flag though.
No one likes to have their mistakes pointed out to them but that is how we learn and getting mad about it accomplishes nothing. You can take something away from your own mistake, own up to it and correct it – just as the library district did.
Hmmm. This highlights why using Wikipedia as a source is not usually a good idea. The referenced article contains large passages that have been lifted directly from Rangeview’s own website propaganda – a clear case of plagiarism.
Further, the article has only had one editor – “Sallymags.” Interestingly enough, the only article that user has ever contributed to is the Rangeview story. Hmmm. Certainly one would suspect someone with Rangeview is helping to put their best face forward. A smart move on their part but it also calls into question the story not to mention the fact a library or library supporter should know better than to plagarize. It certainly is not un-biased.
The library district has done what taxpayers are paying them to do so in a nutshell, the library district is doing their job.
Tony,
Again, I am with you on the fact that the library should fly the flag; I am an American conservative. I vote ‘no’ on a very, very high percentage of issues requiring increased taxation. I do want to comment on several items, ask a few questions.
RE: “Loser – Rangeview Library District Board of Trustees. The board was made aware of the issue two weeks ago and chose not to act. Their failure is the reason the issue became so big and it reflects very poorly on them. Let us also not forget the root of the problem – their failure to ensure the flag was flown at the libraries in the first place.”
Why is the Rangeview Library District Board of Trustees a loser? They are doing a great job in a great number of areas. Instead of closing libraries, they are opening new ones. You can’t fly a flag at a library that doesn’t exist, can you? – And what is your take on flying Old Glory at libraries that are permanently closed? The Board of trustees are winners, even if they had to deal with some embarrassment. They ultimately did what they should have done earlier, ensuring that Old Glory flies at all their libraries. The board has fought hard for years for today’s improvements. Because they didn’t give up, the citizens in their district are the long term winners.
RE: “The library district has done what taxpayers are paying them to do so in a nutshell, the library district is doing their job.”
The taxpayers paid the library district to build TWO buildings totaling 50,000 square feet. The district made FOUR buildings HAPPEN with almost twice the square footage. There was no requirement to do SQUAT beyond what they promised, but Rangeview went above and beyond what was promised. Most people might expect to receive a raise if they stretched a dollar for their employer as well as Rangeview has for their employer, the taxpayer – YOU and me. JUST doing their job? Please! You need glasses! If you are going lament their mistakes then at least tip your hat to them for chosing to go the extra mile for those they serve. My complaint with a lot of government is that, *if* you are lucky, they do just enough to get by. That can not be said of Rangeview. They may very well be the best library district in the country.
Would you mind taking a second look at your favorable mention of Hansen? Wasn’t he a featured speaker at the grand opening of Rangeview’s new library on Huron near Thornton Parkway? Looked like someone was having fun rubbing elbows with the library folk. Nothing wrong with that. However, I don’t recall hearing that he was terribly concerned about flag issues until your story hit the news. So then – you raise a fuss and all of a sudden it becomes politically expedient to roll the library under the bus? I don’t know about you, but it kind of sounds like two different things coming from the same person. It kind of has a fragrance to it, don’t you think?
Thirdly, do you consider private citizens and businesses unpatriotic if they do not fly a flag?
This is a win for Adams County residents and a good example of the power of new media. Kudos to TonysRants.com for being the one to truly put this in the open.
It is also a shame that in the middle of Marty Flaum’s complaining about the library, he forgot that he was in charge of the libraries when he was County Commissioner. Where was his outrage when HE didn’t fly the flag? Hmmm must be hard to keep facts straight when you are so indignant. Also if the Mayor is going to stand in front of the city flag poles while doing a TV shot he really should make sure they are flying correctly. Major mistake in flag etiquette. Maybe instead of working so hard in trying to hurt the library to make a name for himself he needs should check of a library book on proper flag etiquette????
Not sure how any of that excuses the current situation or the library. Pretty irrelevant in fact and it does nothing to change or excuse the actions of the library district.
I bet the library has many books about the American flag, and every other flag in the world. That’s why I’ll be going to a library tomorrow–flag pole or not.
I have spoken to the city about their error in flying the flags in front of the municipal courts incorrectly and this has been corrected.
[...] Colorado Blogosphere « Victory! Rangeview Libraries says “it was a mistake” not to fly the United States flag [...]
So the library caved. I’m sure there will be some dislocated shoulders from the people who will spend the next week slapping themselves on the back.
Nah, I am pretty flexible.
[...] certainly nowhere near as big of a deal as the recent flap over our libraries’ failure to fly the flag, it appears the most famous female comic book superhero is set to drop her iconic patriotic [...]
Most excellent! Congratulations to everyone who made this happen and thank you!
Tony,
Thanks for great coverage on this issue. It’s amazing how much the community rallied around this issue; it definitely wasn’t a one-person show but did take great leadership like yours to get the word out. I’m very happy that the problem is being fixed, but I (and I’m sure many others) don’t think that there would randomly have been a policy reversal and decision to fly the flag without this movement.
Kudos to Kay Riddle for her apperance on Peter Boyles. She had a tough and undesirable job of having to be the voice of the library in a difficult situation. I’m sure she would have appreciated the support of the other library Board members, but it appears they only chose to comment about the situation with degrading comments on various social networking sites. Kay embodied true leadership in this situation.
It’s not easy to say “we made a mistake”, but Kay did and should be commended. Peter Boyles is a tough character and didn’t want to let her off the hook easily. But, we all should remember that she committed to rectify the situation, and for that, KUDOS! I also appreciated that she didn’t try to deflect the situation by pointing fingers, inventing conspiratorious reasons for the outrage, or simply resorting to low-level personal attacks. Great job Kay!
My family loves the library. We visit a few times a month and our kids have a ball.Overall the changes with the Anythink brand have been phenomenal. I think Pam Smith (despite her beating on this subject)has done a great job overseeing the transition of the new libraries. We’ve supported the library from the beginning, even when it wasn’t popular and we’ll continue to support it. We’ll just be glad to visit a library that’s flying a flag.
Oh..and Tony…appreciate your clarification of our status as a veteran…Regardless of when you served, I don’t think anyone will doubt your patriotism or devotion to this country.
This issue of the missing flags came to light when Martin Mendez Republican Chairman of House District 32 was preparing for our House District 32 meeting last month. We always open up with a prayer and the pledge. So he asked for a flag to open up our meeting with and was told “we don’t have any flags in order to prevent controversy.” Well didn’t THAT backfire!
So at our meeting Martin brought up his experience with the library and several of us candidates took exception to the lack of a flag and the attitude about having a flag that was demonstrated. Mayor Hansen was one of those candidates present and I applaud him and Chairman Martin for taking up this issue!
My feeling is that if American public funds paid for a public facility then Old Glory should be proudly displayed! I am very happy to see that with the help of Phil of http://www.customflagcompany.com the new library off 120th will have one in time for it’s grand opening next Saturday.
Kaarl Hoopes
Candidate, House District 32
http:/KaarlHoopes.com