From Staff Reports

SYLVA — The Jackson County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 on Aug. 4 to keep a Confederate statue in front of the historic courthouse in Sylva, but it also agreed to cover the Confederate flag and remove “Heroes of the Confederacy” from the base.

That decision is getting a plethora of reaction.

“I don’t feel that it’s representative of our community,” Destri Leger, with the group Reconcile Sylva, was quoted as saying by local media outlets, while, conversely, resident Patrick McGuire was quoted as asserting, “I would hate to see the statue go.”

The Confederate statue, which is known as “Sylva Sam” and overlooks the county seat, “is sparking debate,” Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) rerported. “Sylva leaders sent Jackson County commissioners a resolution asking for its removal from the old county courthouse, out of town limits.”

Commissioners’ Chairman Brian McMahan was quoted by News 13 as saying, “I made a motion that we deny Sylva’s request.

 â€œWe are going to add a plaque to the front of the statue base covering up the Confederate flag with a list of Jackson County’s involvement in the Civil War,” he added. “Our ‘Heroes of the Confederacy’ (inscription) will be removed from the base.”

While News 13 noted that “McMahan said it’s a compromise,” it quoted Reconcile Sylva member Jessie Swinkford as saying,  “It doesn’t really feel like a compromise because, in essence, the heroes of the Confederacy are still going to be honored whether the statue says, ‘Heroes of the Confederacy’ or not,” 

Others claimed to have all the momentum that they need to keep the protests going as long as it takes to see that statue removed.

Conversely, the group Jackson County Unity Coalition has told local news media that the statue represents a memorial to the many families who sacrificed during the Civil War.

“The president of the local NAACP (Enrique Gomez) said he would have preferred the statue’s removal,” News 13 noted. “But, he said, he sees the compromise, too, reworking the statue’s context. He said questions will remain.”

Rhetorically, Gomez asked, according to News 13, “So, what are we going to do as a community to essentially address the climate of racial tension?”Residents understand the debate is likely to continue.”

Meanwhile, Reconcile Sylva has said the statue belongs, perhaps, in one of the Civil War cemeteries in the county. 

What’s more, the Jackson County Unity Coalition has vowed to continue publicizing its point of view, as well.