OAK HILL, WV (LOOTPRESS) – The City of Oak Hill has voted to remove a military recognition banner honoring former West Virginia Delegate Elliott Pritt following concerns raised over the criminal allegations against him.
The Oak Hill City Council voted unanimously during its regular meeting Monday evening to have the banner removed.
The issue was brought to the city’s attention by resident Christopher Pennington, who also addressed council members during the meeting.
“The allegations against Elliott [Pritt] are extremely serious. They describe a child being groomed beginning when she was just 13-years-old by an adult in a position of trust with the alleged abuse eventually occurring right here in a classroom in our hometown,” Pennington said.
“I keep coming back to that young survivor and her family. They are part of this community too, they travel the same roads you and I do, they shouldn’t have to drive down Main Street and see a banner publicly honoring the person accused of doing this to her.”
“Please remove Elliott Pritt’s banner from the City of Oak Hill,” Pennington stated.
Interim City Manager Tyler Bragg also discussed the city’s current guidelines governing the military recognition banner program, which has grown in popularity. More than 300 banners are currently displayed throughout the city.
Bragg said there have been a few instances in which sponsors who paid for banners later requested that they be removed.
During the discussion, one of the sponsors of Pritt’s banner, who was in attendance at the meeting, told council members he had no objection to its removal and encouraged the city to take it down while Pritt’s case proceeds through the court system.
Following the discussion, council members voted unanimously to remove the banner.
