The Mississippi State Flag flies over the Warren County Courthouse and other county buildings, and while some cities and counties across Mississippi debate whether to fly the state flag, it hasn’t flown over city buildings in Vicksburg for about 18 years.
“The state flag hasn’t flown since I took office,” Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said. “It wasn’t flying under Paul Winfield’s administration or Laurence Leyens. There is nothing in state law that says you have to fly the flag.”
The decision to stop flying the state flag, he said, goes back the former Mayor Robert Walker.
Walker, who served two full terms as mayor, said he had the flag removed in 1997.
“We were doing a number of things. One of things we did was discontinue the cotton bales on the official city seal,” he said. “It was a time when we were looking at things, evaluating things, making sure Vicksburg was a model city.
“We also did some things that were designed to improve the minimum wages for city employees. There were a number of progressive things done during that time.”
Warren County Board of Supervisors President Bill Lauderdale said he was not aware of any move on the board’s part to follow in the city’s steps.
“We haven’t changed any policies,” he said.