The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Hotel’s broken flagpole not meant to honor bin Laden

Connie Smith, of the Hampton Inn on West Leffel Lane, said the hotel's flag has been fixed after flying at half-staff last week. Staff photo by Marshall Gorby

ENLARGE PHOTO

Dayton gets boost from committee for UAV testing
5/24/12
Patrol searches Springfield dealership for stolen cards
5/24/12
Police headlines: Two accused of child endangering
5/24/12
Ad calls Brown career politician
5/24/12
Local Focus: Clark County for May 25
5/24/12
> More headlines

By Andrew McGinn, Staff Writer Updated 9:08 PM Thursday, May 5, 2011

SPRINGFIELD — Card-carrying AARP members still receive a 10 percent discount at the local Hampton Inn — but contrary to what some people might have thought this week, the same definitely doesn’t apply to members of al-Qaida.

When the rope inside the hotel’s flagpole broke Sunday, leaving Old Glory stranded at half-staff for the next several days, it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

“They’re thinking we’re supporters of (Osama) bin Laden,” said Connie Smith, the Leffel Lane hotel’s flabbergasted assistant general manager. “We started getting calls left and right.”

Close to two dozen irate Springfielders took to their phones to express outrage that the hotel would pay respect in the death of the al-Qaida leader.

One woman in tears demanded to know whether the hotel owners were from Iraq, Iran or Pakistan. (No, no and no.)

“It was all over the fact that our flagpole broke,” Smith said. “It was a complete misunderstanding.

“It got to the point where we got a few threatening calls,” Smith said. “Some guy, I don’t know if he was drunk or what, said, ‘If you don’t take that flag down, I’m going to cut it down.’ He said he’d take the whole flagpole if he needed to.”

Ironically, the hotel had been in the act Sunday of performing a most patriotic duty — replacing a fraying flag — when the rope broke. The problem was fixed Wednesday.

“The town,” Smith confessed, “is obviously patriotic.”

Contact this reporter at amcginn@coxohio.com.

Share this article