05/20/2007

Some take heat for pointing out Klan flag

BY SHERI McWHIRTER

smcwhirter@record-eagle.com

RAPID CITY - David Grimm believes this little Kalkaska County town has a lot going for it, with property values on the rise, new homes under construction and a steady local economy.

Most locals don't support and don't want to be associated with a recent racist flag-flying incident they agree tarnished Rapid City's reputation, said Grimm, supervisor of Clearwater Township, the local bra nch of government.

Others, though, chose to lash out at everyone but those who raised the flag.

"This was brought on the town by the people who did it, not by the people who contacted the media. It's ridiculous to assume nobody would be offended by that flag,” Grimm said.

Two weeks ago, a Confederate flag bearing a white cross and the phrases "white power” and "Ku Klux Klan” flew over a picnic hosted by the Rapid City Businessmen's Association. Some of the 300 or so attendees took offense, contacted the media and now are caught in a backlash from some community leaders.

About 50 people attended a recent township meeting, many to talk about the flag-flying incident and the negative light in which it cast the town. Some there blamed the media, as well as those who wrote letters to local newspapers; those people chose not to fault or call out those who raised the flag, Grimm said.

"It comes down to a few people, and nobody will own up to it,” he said.

Dick Ault of nearby Alden wrote a letter to the Record-Eagle about his disgust with the flag, what he described as a "banner of hate.” Now he's incensed that anyone who took offense to the Klan flag would be blamed for shaming the town, he said.

"I don't think they want their town painted that way and I don't want to see that happen either. I think they should take responsibility, rather than blaming the messengers and the media,” Ault said. "Those of us it offended, you know, it's not our fault they put up an offensive flag. It's theirs.”

Bill Bockstahler also contacted the media and later took heat for it, he said.

"I don't want to make light of this, but it's amusing. The real issue is how it's not the original sin, but publicizing it afterward that's the true sin,” he said. "They say it's making a mountain out of a molehill. I say you don't have a flag like that unless you mean it.

"You don't fly it unless you're really trying to make a very strong statement about your beliefs.”

Grimm said he's taken a lot of telephone calls from residents and business owners since the Record-Eagle's May 13 story about the flag. Many of those callers worry the Klan flag will become Rapid City's legacy.

"I think it's a normal reaction to this type of thing, but I think it's been blown out of proportion because all the businesses and the township are being labeled with this, when it was just a few people,” Grimm said.

Tim Barber is manager at the Village Market in Rapid City, and sold steaks to cookout organizers at a discounted price. He hopes the flag incident won't cause customers to think poorly of his business, he said.

"It is bad publicity for the Rapid City and Alden area,” he said.

Barber is not the only concerned business operator in town. Joe Watt owns the Cone Corral and Pizzeria in Rapid City and said he considers it an isolated mistake and hopes it never happens again.

"You don't want your town to be labeled as racist,” Watt said. "It's unfortunate that this happened, but my guess is this is over, so long as it doesn't happen again.”

Kalkaska County Commissioner Louis Nemeth attended the picnic and said he saw the flag pole, but never looked up to see the flag. He contends the negative publicity for Rapid City has blown over.

"I think everybody accepts it as the action of one person and it was inappropriate. I don't think it will be a problem, unless it happens again,” Nemeth said.