The mayor and members of the Augusta (Georgia) City Council have been notified, by letter, of the Georgia Heritage Council’s (GHC) intent to bring a legal action against the city, according to Jeff Davis, GHC chairman.

Davis said the letter points out the “GHC’s concern about the unilateral removal of flags at the Augusta Riverwalk, as well as the alteration of the stone memorials, at the base of those flags removed.

“The memorials were an integral part of the historical display honoring past military service by Georgia citizens, from colonial times to the present. It is even more of a concern to learn that, not only was the act a unilateral decision made by Augusta’s mayor without the color of official governmental action, but was done at the telephoned request of a Georgia organization on behalf of its sister organization in South Carolina, which was to have a convention at the hotel adjacent to the Riverwalk…

“Regardless of the reason for the removal and alterations, however, this unilateral act was in clear violation of the laws of the State of Georgia…The GHC sincerely hopes this matter can be resolved short of protracted litigation, and we invite the positive suggestions that can bring this issue to a mutually satisfactory conclusion.”

The GHC’s purposes include “to preserve and protect the history and heritage of the State of Georgia, the South, and the United States from the colonies to the present.”

For further information, contact:
Jeff Davis, Chairman, GHC, Gainesville, Ga. Telephone 770 297-4788
Woody Highsmith, Director, GHC, Augusta, Ga. Telephone 706 860-3396