 However, as of this week, that has been remedied with the addition
of a flagpole standing between two of the overhead doors on the fire
station end of the building.
During the winter, the flagpole on the roof of City Hall
encountered some hardware issues that could not be repaired.
When Alderwoman Joni Tibbs, who serves as the chair of the
building and ground committee, shared this information with the city
council several weeks ago, she said that she was not in favor of
replacing the flagpole at the tip of the cupola on the roof.
For the flag to fly daily at the top of City Hall meant that
someone, usually one of the firefighters, had to go up into the
attic of the building, access a ladder-like stair to the roof and
stand very nearly on the edge of the roof to raise the flag.
Tibbs commented that the continuous walking on the roof was not
good for it, and fire Chief Mark Miller also commented that it was
not a very safe activity, especially in bad weather.
Tibbs told the council that she wanted to place a pole on the
ground instead, and the cost involved would be over $2,000.
However, soon after hearing that the city had a need,
administrators at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital made a call and
offered the city the opportunity to take a flagpole from the old
hospital grounds on Eighth Street.
Currently the old ALMH is under demolition, and soon nothing will
be there but an empty lot.
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Seeing the hospital go is a sad situation for many people in the
community. Even though what the city has now in the form of a new
hospital is far superior and will give local residents a great deal
more in the way of care and services, there is always going to be a
sentimental attachment to the place where children were born and
loved ones left their earthly life behind.
But, perhaps some can take comfort in knowing that there are
pieces of the old landmark still intact, and still a part of the
community, such as the flagpole where Old Glory now flies high at
the Lincoln City Hall and Fire Department.
[By NILA SMITH]
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