A U.S. Flag disposal box is available outside the Veterans Affairs office at Warren County Courthouse.

There is an official U.S. Flag disposal box at the Warren County Courthouse.

The box is outside the Warren County Veterans Affairs office and was provided by the Warren County Sheriff’s Office through a Pennsylvania Sheriff’s Association effort.

“My office supports this project and believes that our flags should be shown respect and disposed in the proper fashion,” Sheriff Ken Klakamp said.

Retirement of flags falls under the “respect for display” portion of the U.S. Flag Code: “The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.”

There is no specific definition of unfit for display, but the American Legion uses the terms “worn, faded, and tattered” in its Ceremony for Disposal of Unserviceable Flags.

The Sheriff’s Office is responsible for maintaining and checking the box and will work with Veterans Affairs on disposal of flags, Klakamp said.

The Boy Scouts of America hold flag retirement ceremonies. Prior to burning, the scouts cut the flags into four pieces, leaving the star field intact. “A flag ceases to be a flag when it is cut into pieces,” according to the Boy Scouts website. “The reason we do not cut the blue star field is it represents the union of the fifty states and one should never let the union be broken.”

The Chief Cornplanter Chapter of the Boy Scouts of America accepts flags for disposal at its 316 Fourth Ave. headquarters.

The courthouse disposal box is available any time the courthouse is open.