Print some and hang in your car window.
For a bigger high resolution download here: big flag pic
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I'm trying to find contact information...don't want to flood the small county courthouse...they don't have email listed yet.
Patriotic gesture backfires
By George Alexander, staff writer
Patriotic to one business owner is not patriotic to Walton County.
The Sandollar Diner on U.S. 98 was cited by county code enforcement officer J.M. Newborn on Monday for displaying a banner with the words “Thanks For Traveling” and an America flag on it. Banners are prohibited along the “scenic corridor” of U.S. 98 under the county’s land development code.
Greg Oswalt, the diner’s agent, said the banner was patriotic and should be allowed because of America’s current circumstances. The idea behind the banner was to promote business and tourism and support President Bush’s request for Americans to keep spending their money, Oswalt said.
He said he knew it was against the code but thought there might be leniency from the county because of the banner’s patriotic nature.
He also admitted getting “irate” when he called the code enforcement office to ask about the citation.
“With all the service people in this area going overseas, I asked (Newborn) if he was from Afghanistan,” Oswalt said.
Senior code enforcement officer Dan Trotman said Newborn was only doing his job.
Trotman said any business owner who wished to put up a patriotic sign could obtain a permit after a “five minute” permitting process and paying a $10 fee.
“If people work with us, we’ll work with them,” Trotman said.
Though Oswalt received the citation, he doesn’t even own the banner — it was given to the restaurant by the Sleep Inn in South Walton as part of a larger tourism marketing campaign by Choice Hotels International.
The manager of the Sleep Inn, who asked not to be identified, said the banners were given out to try and help everybody, not to get anyone in trouble. She sympathized with the diner.
“There should have been leniency,” she said.
15015 Emeraldcoast Pkwy, Destin, FL
(850) 837-9650
Heh. The road to hell is paved with
good intentions.
Print some and hang in your car window.
For a bigger high resolution download here: big flag pic
Not wanting to upset anyone, but this Clintonian circumlocution is meant to imply that the speaker served in Vietnam, but in fact didn't.
Another more eloquent Vietnam combat veteran could probably phrase this better.
I work in the promotional products industry. I've got suppliers comming out of the woodwork with ideas on how to put a patriotic spin on advertising and promotional items.
The "Thanks for Traveling" crosses the line from being just patriotic to a business promotion. If he changed the text to "United We Stand" or "God Bless America" then he would be getting more sympathy from me.
