Photo by Catherine Hardee / Neuse News

In an Emergency Meeting of the Lenoir County Commissioners held at the Cooperative Extension Office, the Commissioners unanimously approved removing the Confederate monument from the Visitor's Center to the Wil King Memorial Site. The motion was made by Commissioner Eric Rouse and seconded by Commissioner J. Mac Daughety. The board unanimously approved the motion.

Full Story Below:

At an emergency meeting on Thursday morning, the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners made a decision regarding the Confederate statue currently located at the Kinston-Lenoir County Visitors Center.

After a period of public comment, in which 71 comments submitted online prior to the meeting were read out, commissioners discussed the situation. The public comments were split between those advocating for the statue’s removal, and those who believe the statue should remain in its current location. 

The statue commemorating those from Lenoir County who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1924. The commissioners decided to move forward plans that had already been in place to relocate the statue.

Commissioner Eric Rouse made a motion to relocate the monument away from the visitors center to another portion of the First Battle of Kinston Civil War Battlefield Park, specifically, the area known as the Wil King Memorial Site at 1400 Harriette Dr. That motion was seconded by Commissioner J Mac Daughety. The commissioners voted unanimously in support of the motion, which also allocated $15,000 in funding to accomplish the relocation. 

Each of the commissioners expressed their support for the proposal, with Lenoir County Board of Commissioners Chairman Linda Rouse Sutton calling the move one that would “protect the integrity and safety and morale of citizens. We have looked at it from a lot of different perspectives, we believe we understand feelings on both sides, and keeping all those things in mind, this was a way we could reach out and be the bigger person and let folks know that we cared,” Sutton said. 

Board of Commissioners Vice-Chair Roland Best said he especially appreciated the input from citizens on the subject. 

“I’m proud we were able to come together and come to a solid agreement,” Best said.

Commissioner Preston Harris said he believes the decision is the most appropriate one the commissioners could make, but he also expressed his hope that there could be an open forum for discussion in the future where citizens could help each other understand the very different viewpoints represented in the public comments.

County Manager Michael James said he believed the relocation could be completed as early as next week, and the project would likely be completed for less than the $15,000 allocated by the commissioners.