SCV to Raise Confederate Flag in New Park off I-24

WKMS | By Todd Hatton

Published April 13, 2012 at 9:27 AM CDT

A flagpole flying the Confederate battle flag off Interstate 24 near exit 16 will be the centerpiece of a new park honoring Confederate soldiers. The Sons of Confederate Veterans are funding construction of benches and a circle of bricks to represent southern soldiers who fought to secede from the United States in the 1860s. SCV Kentucky Division Commander John Suttles tells The Paducah Sun the land for the park was donated by a man who had Confederate ancestors. McCracken County Judge-Executive Van Newberry says he's worried about what visitors to Paducah and the county will think upon seeing the flag. Newberry concedes that as long as the flagpole is on private property and if is installed according to code, it is considered First Amendment-protected free speech protected.

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Todd Hatton

Todd Hatton hails from Paducah, Kentucky, where he got into radio under the auspices of the late, great John Stewart of WKYX while a student at Paducah Community College. He also worked at WKMS in the reel-to-reel tape days of the early 1990s before running off first to San Francisco, then Orlando in search of something to do when he grew up. He received his MFA in Creative Writing at Murray State University. He vigorously resists adulthood and watches his wife, Angela Hatton, save the world one plastic bottle at a time.

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