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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

Ruggles: No place for Confederate flag on county property

Cliff Arthur, a Shoshone County employee and "Dukes of Hazzard" fan, stands next to his 1995 Dodge pickup with the Confederate flag on the front license plate and back window. Arthur has angered Jon Ruggles of Wallace for parking the pickup in a prominent spot in public view at the transfer station.
Cliff Arthur, a Shoshone County employee and "Dukes of Hazzard" fan, stands next to his 1995 Dodge pickup with the Confederate flag on the front license plate and back window. Arthur has angered Jon Ruggles of Wallace for parking the pickup in a prominent spot in public view at the transfer station.

As you may recall, Jon Ruggles of Wallace, who has a long history of community involvement in the Silver Valley, was bothered when he saw a pickup bearing Confederate flags parked prominently at the solid waste transfer station on Martin Luther King Day. Ruggles has written about the experience for Huckleberries Online, including his struggle to get Shoshone County officials to take action:

Even those with the most closed social awareness must realize that this emblem is a comment in support of: enslavement, racism, bigotry, xenophobia, cruelty and most recently used in the death of people of color. Further, this comment is directed at but not limited to: black, latin, native and asian americans. Moreover, this confederate flag has become the chosen emblem of the white power movement which advocates not only against and people of color (which includes Italians) but also those with different sexual identities and religions including Islam, Judaism and Catholics. More here.

Question: Should Shoshone County take action to block the Confederate flag from being displayed on an employee's pickup at the solid waste transfer station?



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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