One of the first actions the new Hamburg Town Board took this week was to add a flagpole or poles outside Town Hall on South Park Avenue.
The flagpole became an issue last June, when, in observance of Pride Month, the town hoisted a Pride flag below the American flag, displacing the POW/MIA flag and angering veterans.
A veteran approached Supervisor Randy Hoak, expressing concern that the POW/MIA flag was missing.
Angry veterans in Hamburg say it’s not which flag was hoisted on the flagpole in front of To…
Hoak said the 72-year-old veteran used “great profanity” and slapped his arm outside Town Hall. The supervisor called police, who charged the veteran with harassment. The charges were dropped by Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn, whose office took over the prosecution when the town prosecutor recused himself.
Flynn’s office determined that the alleged actions of the veteran did not rise to the level of a harassment violation and the case against him could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Hoak said last year the POW/MIA flag was taken down because it was frayed. Several days after the incident, a POW/MIA flag was returned to the pole, with the Pride flag flying below it.
Ten days after the incident, Councilwoman Beth Farrell…
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