ALFRED — After last week’s heated debate on whether yellow ribbons in the village square should stay or go, selectmen have decided the ribbons can stay.
Susan Babb-McKinney has hung yellow ribbons in the square since 2005 in honor of active-duty soldiers, like her son Sgt. 1st Class Joel Babb, 32, who has been in the Army for 13 years and was deployed to Afghanistan in April.
The town removed the ribbons three weeks ago, saying they were tattered and in poor condition. The town also said they had received some complaints about the ribbons.
“The whole thing to me is ridiculous,” Babb-McKinney said. “I don’t know why anybody would have an issue with yellow ribbons.”
During an Aug. 16 selectmen meeting, Babb-McKinney presented a petition with 124 signatures in support of the yellow ribbons. When she learned of Tuesday night’s decision allowing her to tie nine ribbons to nine trees in the square, she said she was thrilled.
“I couldn’t be happier,” she said.
The decision does come with some stipulations, Babb-McKinney said. There can only be one ribbon per tree, unlike the multiple ribbons she had tied on branches of a single tree. Also, the ribbons must be changed quarterly or as soon as any become tattered.
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