Austintown group plans to deck the township in American flags

By ROBERT CONNELLY

rconnelly@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

The township’s rotary club has begun a flag project as a fundraiser and as another way to show patriotism throughout the community.

Mark Cole is spearheading the movement for Rotary Club of Austintown and stepped down as president of the club June 30. Austintown Schools Superintendent Vincent Colaluca is currently president.

The flag program began during the Fourth of July parade earlier this month in the township. Cole said they had fliers printed out the day before the parade.

“We passed out 3,000 fliers throughout the parade and we’re trying to get the word out to everyone in the community,” he said.

Several communities locally have the same project, such as Canfield, Struthers, Boardman, and Lewisville. The program costs $30 a year and rotary members or groups working with rotary on the project will put a flag in the yard of a participating resident around national holidays. “We’re going to look at maybe the [Boy] Scouts and different organizations that will help us by delivering the flags,” Cole said. He added they would pay “like $1 a flag in, $1 a flag out ... [we’re] trying to help other organizations.”

The flags are put up a week before Memorial Day and stay through Flag Day and are taken down after the Fourth of July. The flags are then put back up a week before Labor Day and stay through Patriot Day and are again taken down after Veteran’s Day. The group is hoping the flags will last for two to three years.

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