Question: I fly our American flag every day. Consequently, I have several tattered flags that need to be disposed of properly. Do you have names of organizations that will accept and dispose of old tattered U.S. flags?
Answer: The American Legion, Department of Hawaii, accepts old flags and holds a flag disposal ceremony every June 14, Flag Day, usually at Ke‘ehi Lagoon Memorial.
You can either mail the flags or drop them off at the organization’s headquarters, 612 McCully St. The office is open from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
An alternative drop-off site is the Flags n’ Things store at 98-029 Hekaha St. in Aiea, an American Legion staffer said.
An average of 100 to 200 worn flags are turned in every year to the Hawaii American Legion office.
According to the U.S. Flag Code, when a flag “is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display,” it should be destroyed “in a dignified way, preferably by burning.”
Question: A young man who lives across the street from us has replaced his truck horn with an air horn (which the big hauling trucks have). It has a sharp, distinct sound and is very loud. When he comes home from his job he honks his horn to announce his arrival.
This startles me and my wife (not to mention my dog) and our neighbors. I called 911 to complain about it and when he did it again, I called 911 again and asked for a police officer. When the officer arrived, I explained what happened and asked him to inform the neighbor to stop honking his horn. His friends installed the same type of air horn on their trucks and every time they pass our house on California Avenue in Wahiawa they honk to let our neighbor know they just passed by. Is the air horn illegal on family cars, SUVs and trucks? The police officer did not know if it was legal or illegal.
Answer: Based on your complaint, another police officer went to the home of the truck’s registered owner, who wasn’t home at the time.
But a relative “was asked to inform the driver to stop honking the air horn because it is a violation of law,” said a spokeswoman for the Honolulu Police Department.
Section 15-19.7 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu covers “horns and warning devices.” It says: “Every motor vehicle when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with a horn in good working order and capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than 200 feet; but no horn or other warning device shall emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle …”
It goes on to say: “No vehicle shall be equipped with nor shall any person use upon a vehicle any siren, whistle or bell, except as otherwise permitted herein.”
It then says any authorized emergency vehicle may be equipped with a siren, whistle, bell or air horn capable of emitting a sound that can be heard, under normal conditions, from a distance not less than 500 feet, and that “the use of such air horn shall be restricted to heavy fire equipment such as fire engines, ladder trucks and rescue trucks” and used only in emergency situations.
Mahalo
To Lehua, the manager of KFC at King Street and Dillingham Boulevard. I had problems printing out my vouchers for a half-off deal. Lehua was extremely pleasant and she and her male employee were very helpful and made what I anticipated to be a sticky situation problem-free. — Lu
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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
