County commissioners call emergency meeting to discuss statue
The Lenoir County Board of Commissioners will hold an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss an issue raised in the media by Kinston mayor Dontario Hardy.
In a YouTube video published by the Kinston Free Press on Monday, Hardy called for the removal of the statue of a Confederate soldier located at the Kinston-Lenoir County Visitors Center on Highway 70. Hardy said he had received complaints that the statue remains at its prominent location, and said that it should be moved elsewhere.
Lenoir County Board of Commissioners Chairman Linda Rouse Sutton said the interview came as a complete surprise to her and the commissioners, given that the statue belongs to the county, and is located on a county-managed property.
“I was very upset and disappointed that he [Hardy] could not call me or call the commissioners and let us know there was a problem. We could have sat down and worked something out. I felt like we had that relationship,” Sutton said.
Sutton said the commissioners made the decision to hold the emergency meeting following Hardy’s comments in order to address the issue as soon as possible.
“We wanted to talk about it and discuss it, because we don’t want somebody coming in here from outside and causing a big ruckus. We felt it was of such an urgent nature that we needed to talk about it,” Sutton said.
Adding to the complexity of the issue, discussions had already been taking place at a county level to determine a new home for the statue, according to Sutton. With planned changes in the works for the Visitor’s Center, Sutton said she and County Manager Michael James had recognized the potential issues with the statue’s placement and were looking for alternatives.
Commissioner J Mac Daughety said he has been working on the potential relocation of the statue for more than a month, seeking potential sites where the statue could better be displayed within a historical context, since it no longer fit with the vision the commissioners have in mind for the Visitors Center.
“We are meeting Thursday because of the heightened emotions, and because we don’t believe it is in the public’s best interest for it to stay out there, knowing we were already going to move it, and have something tragic happen,” Daughety said.
The Lenoir County Board of Commissioners will meet Thursday, June 25 at 10 a.m at the Lenoir County Cooperative Extension Office. While the meeting will not be open to the public due to ongoing precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be streamed live on the county website. Click here to view the stream.
Neuse News reached out to Commissioners Best, Harris, and Rouse for comment, but did not receive a reply before press time. This story will be updated with their comments if received.
