Reidsville's $30,000 monument to madness

So my hometown of Reidsville, North Carolina has decided to ultimately remove a nationally-recognized statue with more than a hundred years of history, and let it instead be replaced with a horror straight out of H.P. Lovecraft... "We'll tear your soul apart!" Brief recap: almost four years ago the Confederate monument in downtown Reidsville was toppled and smashed...

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A troubling trend in News & Record journalism

The News & Record in Greensboro - the region's largest newspaper - has a story on the front page of today's edition about last night's resolution by the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners to restore the Confederate Soldiers Monument in downtown Reidsville (see earlier post here).For some reason or another Joe Gamm - the reporter who wrote the story - chose to include the following in his article..."After a court approved replacing the monument,...

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Rockingham County commissioners UNANIMOUSLY approve restoring the Confederate monument!

The message went out loud and clear last night from citizens and their elected representatives alike: "Mayor Festerman, tear down this tree!" Confederate Soldiers Monument in downtownReidsville, North Carolina prior to theMay 2011 accidentLots of friends who went to yesterday evening's meeting of the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners conveyed the good news: that by...

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6 Inches of Freedom: City of Reidsville discriminating against disabled! Pro-Monument protestors given "ridiculous" amount of space! ADA violation could incur $$$ penalties!

The Police Department of the City of Reidsville has as of late last week implemented and begun enforcing a policy of limiting those protesting for the return of the Confederate Soldiers Monument to a six-inch wide raised enclosure surrounding the former site of the monument, The Knight Shift has learned. Those who do not limit themselves to this "area" will be arrested.This...

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On wars and monuments and such...

I hadn't wanted to revisit the issue of the Confederate Soldiers Monument in my hometown of Reidsville this soon. But earlier this morning I was led to consider something, and I think it's worth sharing and asking others to ponder it also...I have visited many historic battlefields, and cemeteries, and locations of monuments. Both in my own country and also abroad.I have seen many memorials honoring soldiers who fought in war.But I have yet to...

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A monument to brave duty in a broken world

My original plan for this day was to head out around lunch to grab a spot at the back of the chamber and do live blogging of this afternoon's meeting of Reidsville City Council. Agenda Item #5 was public comments on how to proceed with the Confederate Soldiers Monument, which was greatly damaged in an unfortunate vehicular accident on May 23rd. So I was going to be there...

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An open letter to James Festerman, Mayor of Reidsville

Dear James Festerman:All you have to do at this week's Reidsville City Council meeting is to announce that the driver was insured like all other drivers on the road, that his insurance company will pick up the tab for repairing the Confederate Soldiers Monument just like any other incident involving an auto accident, that said funds will go to repairing the monument, and that council will then proceed to new business.That is all that needs to happen....

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Breaking News: Reidsville's Confederate monument smashed to smithereens!

The Confederate Soldiers Monument that has served as the best-known landmark of downtown Reidsville, North Carolina for more than a hundred years is a shattered ruin this morning. The Confederate soldier statue himself? Resting in pieces.Around 4:30 a.m. today the driver of a van apparently fell asleep at the wheel, sending his vehicle plowing into the monument. The impact...

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