Flags

Finally it's here: that first wonderful weekend of the vacation season. It's time to go somewhere for three or four days -- to break away on Friday (if you can) and stay until late Monday or early Tuesday. It's time to feel free in a new place or revisit somewhere that has pleased you in years past, and to unwind and relax in different surroundings. Ready, set, go -- we're "on the road again," as Willie Nelson says. Memorial Day (or Decoration Day, as it was called when I was a boy)

Gary Moskowitz NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- Although many of her friends decided not to attend this year's Armenian American Festival, Diana Agdaian wanted to put everything aside for a day and celebrate. But Agdaian, one of about 1,500 who attended the third annual festival that celebrates Armenia's independence from the Soviet Union, wasn't just celebrating her Armenian culture. She celebrated the freedom of living in America. "I heard that a lot of Armenians want to avoid being around large groups of other Armenians because they are a little scared," said Agdaian, 25, a resident of Hollywood.

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE -- What was once a patriotic tradition for a local business owner had become a political hassle. So, Kelly Khoury was glad Wednesday to take down most of the more than 20 American flags that have been flapping above his Pacific Avenue gas station for nearly four months and bringing him local and national attention. "It's a big relief," he said. Khoury finally complied with a three-month-old city request that he remove most of the Stars and Stripes at the station because he felt confident his flag-flying tradition was no longer in danger.

LA CRESCENTA -- About 30 flags lay on a non-descript table at the end of the football field at Crescenta Valley High School on Thursday. They were folded in traditional triangles but they were tattered, dingy, threadbare. Lt. Col. David Worley, who teaches the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program, spoke to 100 cadets and 100 students about the flag retirement ceremony they were about to witness. "We have an old friend here who has fulfilled her duty to our country," Worley said of one of the flags.

Students, faculty and parents at John Marshall Elementary School were joined by district officials Assemblyman Dario Frommer (D-Glendale) Friday in hoisting their new California Distinguished Schools flag for the first time. Sixth-grader Layla Saad, 12, led the school's honor guard in presenting the flag, as well as the American and state flags. Students and faculty were all dressed in red, white and blue and sang the school song, "The Grand Old School."

Josh Kleinbaum Rosemont Middle School celebrated its selection as a California Distinguished School with a special ceremony Tuesday, raising the new Distinguished School flag in front of the school. "We won it, so we just figured we should run it up the flagpole," Assistant Principal Ron Sowers said. Rosemont was one of 132 schools to earn the Distinguished School honor, awarded by the state's Department of Education. The school qualified to apply by showing improvement in four areas on the SAT 9 standardized tests.

Flag Day was remembered at Crescenta Valley High School with a flag retirement ceremony. Close to 70 flags were honorably retired by the JROTC at the CVHS softball field. When the United States flag becomes worn, torn or faded, it should be retired with all the dignity and respect befitting our nation's flag, said Lt. Col. David Worley, mentor of the JROTC program at the high school. JROTC members solemnly cut the blue star background from the first tattered flag, then laid it on top of the bonfire that had been prepared earlier.

Members of the community gathered on Veteran's Day at the amphitheater of the United Methodist Church in La Cañada to observe Boy Scout Troop 303 retire several American flags. Approximately 25 flags were given to the troop. Each flag was properly folded into a triangle and placed on a table near the blazing fire pit. The morning ceremony opened with the assemblage standing and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The introduction to the National Veterans Flag ceremony was then read.

Claudia Peschiutta GLENDALE -- Kelly Khoury wants to fly American flags at his Pacific Avenue gas station, without worrying about city ordinances. But questions brought up by the large collection of American flags decorating his Shell station will tonight lead the Glendale City Council to reconsider its rules for how businesses may display Old Glory. Nearly three months ago, city officials determined Khoury's collection, which included about 20 flags, was being used for advertising purposes and presented him with a warning and a request to reduce the number to six. The city requires Glendale Planning Department approval when the flag is used as a promotional tool.