In a special called meeting of the Vance County Commissioners Tuesday, June 30, a motion was made and voted on 4-3 to remove, store and preserve a Confederate statue located in front of the County Administration Building.

County Manager Jordan McMillen told WIZS News by email, “The board voted 4-3 this evening to remove, store and preserve the statue and monument.”

The Chairman of the Vance County Commissioners, Gordon Wilder, told WIZS News by phone the removal was being done for safety reasons.

Wilder said, “That is very simply how the motion went.”

Carolyn Faines, Yolanda J. Feimster, Leo Kelly, Jr. and Archie B. Taylor, Jr. voted in favor of the motion. Dan Brummitt, Tommy Hester and Wilder voted against the motion. The motion carried, and the Confederate memorial will be taken down at an undisclosed time.

Apparently there were credible threats for the forcible removal of the statue. Wilder said, “Any attempt by any group to take it down unprofessionally would be a safety issue and so therefore it was found by the board to be unsafe, and so there was a motion to take it down.”

For similar reasons of safety, it remains undisclosed and will remain undisclosed as to the time and date the statue and monument will be taken down and removed.

Wilder said, of himself and Brummitt and Hester, “We did not want to break the law. The letter of the law says it cannot be removed.”

NCGS 100-2.1. Protection of monuments, memorials, and works of art. Part (a) reads, “Approval Required. – Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, a monument, memorial, or work of art owned by the State may not be removed, relocated, or altered in any way without the approval of the North Carolina Historical Commission.” Part (b) and (c) list limitations on removal and exceptions respectively. You can click the NCGS above or anywhere here in this paragraph to see the full statute.

The monument and statue are owned by Vance County, and the monument and statue sit on Vance County owned property.

###