State employee won’t lower flags for Helms

RALEIGH — A longtime state employee has chosen to retire instead of lowering flags to half-staff to honor former Republican Sen. Jesse Helms.

Gov. Mike Easley had ordered all U.S. and state flags lowered after Helms died July 4. But L.F. Eason III told his staff to ignore the directive at the state Standards Laboratory in Raleigh.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Wednesday that Eason said he didn’t think it was appropriate to lower the flags because of Helms’ “doctrine of negativity, hate, and prejudice.” Eason said Helms “voted against or blocked every civil right issue”
that came before Congress.

Eason’s superiors gave him an ultimatum: lower the flags or retire immediately.

The 51-year-old Eason retired after 29 years with the Department of Agriculture, and the flags at the lab were lowered to half-staff.

Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)