Summit County now has a flag disposal site set up in Kimball Junction. The Eagle Scout project started a few months ago and now there is a respectful and proper way to retire worn out flags.
Thirteen-year-old Eagle Scout candidate, Tanner Crosby says his project is pretty much finished. He’ll submit his final paperwork to the Boy Scout administrators this week but the box he’s installed is ready to take those old, worn out flags that people have lying around. He explains best practices for disposing of flags. Tanner says people should carefully fold the flag and then put it in the box. He thinks there are about 10 flags in it now. They’ll handle the flag-burning and disposal of the ashes as a whole troop project.
“It doesn’t really matter where you burn it, it just has to be a good place to burn it where no one’s going to find it and stuff. When we go to scout camps, there are multiple troops that bring their own flags. We all put our flags into the fire. When we are done, we let the fire go out. When we are at the scout camp, we grab the ashes and find a good place to bury it.”
Tanner says his troop is going to have their Eagle Scout ceremony together in the next few months. They’ll pass the responsibility on to another troop who will monitor the disposal box and take care of the old flags.
“So, I’m in troop 1504 and since our scout troop, is like, everybody’s almost done with their eagle project, we’re going to hand my flag disposal box to Troop 72 so they can go bury the ashes and dispose of the flags.”
Tanner says his final paperwork describes the project and what it took to pull it together once they received approval from the county.
“We just had to order a mailbox and stuff. Then we had to get it ready and paint it. Then, just prepare it for the weathering and how we’re going to lay the concrete with the mailbox and see how the measurements are and we have to make it perfect, so it doesn’t erode.”
A slide show of Tanner Crosby and his fellow scout troop can be found on KPCW.org. Thanks to the scouts, people can take worn out flags to the Summit County Library Building in Kimball junction, near the DMV office.
