Township Officers Place Flag Box At Grocery Store
Manheim Township Police Officer Mark Shivers is a member of the Patriotic Order Sons of America, a fraternal organization with 14 camps in Pennsylvania and its headquarters in Valley Forge. "The main focus is patriotism and the promotion of patriotism," said Shivers. Shivers and fellow officer Lucas Starsinic are aiming to promote patriotism by encouraging the proper retirement of tattered American flags. To that end, they have worked together and partnered with Oregon Dairy to place a tattered flag collection box outside the door at Oregon Dairy, 2900 Oregon Pike, Lititz. The box was officially placed in March.
Shivers was involved in placing a similar box outside a store in the Adamstown area, and he thought installing one in the Manheim Township area might be a good idea. "The one in Adamstown averages 100 flags per month," said Shivers, who has been with the Manheim Township Police Department for more than a decade. He noted that he has never seen a collection box in Manheim Township. In early January, he shared his thoughts with Chief of Police Tom Rudzinski, who liked the idea and suggested Shivers reach out to Oregon Dairy to see if the grocery store would be willing to have the box located there.
Having secured a location for the collection box, Shivers turned to Starsinic. "Officer Starsinic is quite a woodworker in his free time, so I asked him to build a box," recalled Shivers. Starsinic completed the box in February, and by March 24, it had been placed at Oregon Dairy.
What astonished both officers was how quickly the red, white, and blue box began filling up with tattered flags. In the first three weeks the box was available, nearly 1,000 flags were deposited. The officers check the receptacle weekly and have received more than 400 flags in one week alone. "The box overflows at times," said Starsinic.
"We will take any tattered American flag," said Shivers, who noted that even historic American flags may be deposited in the box.
For now, the flags are being stored at the police station, but plans are underway to hold a proper retirement ceremony, possibly at Oregon Dairy. Shivers noted that an event may be planned around the ceremony. Retirement policy for an American flag recommends that when the flag is worn beyond repair, it should be burned in a simple manner with dignity and respect.
Shivers predicts an increase in the number of flags that will be received around Memorial Day and Independence Day. "There aren't many organizations that do this," he said, noting that many people have flags that are tattered and they know the flags should not be thrown away. "They put it away in a corner somewhere until they hear of something like this," he said, adding that when a grocery store trip is required, people will remember to bring the flags and put them in the box.
More information about the police department is available at http://www.manheimtownship.org.
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