{"id":8976,"date":"2026-09-18T13:34:03","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T13:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/18\/8976\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T13:34:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T13:34:03","slug":"8976","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/18\/8976\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>American flag raised at Lake Murray Destination Landmark<\/h1>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\"><strong>IRMO, S.C.<\/strong> &mdash; A new American flag now flies at the Lake Murray Destination Landmark on the Irmo side of the Lake Murray Dam following a flag-raising ceremony Sept. 17 in recognition of Constitution Day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Staff from Capital City\/Lake Murray Country (CCLMC) joined state Rep. Nathan Ballentine for the ceremony.<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gpstrianglenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/CCLMC-Staff-and-Nathan-Ballantine_2026_630x350.jpg?w=1440\" alt=\"\" align=\"center\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The project began in April 2026 when the Rotary Club of Lake Murray-Irmo approached CCLMC about adding an American flag and flagpole to the Destination Landmark. The flagpole was installed Sept. 11, and the American flag was officially raised Sept. 17.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">During the ceremony, Ballentine recognized Dr. Tripp Jones and the Rotary Club of Lake Murray-Irmo for their efforts in making the project possible. He also reflected on what the American flag represents to the community and nation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">CCLMC Executive Director Vickie Davis said the flag serves as a reminder of the freedoms Americans enjoy and the sacrifices made by those who have served.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">&ldquo;We should be reminded daily that this American flag represents our country, the freedoms we enjoy, and the men and women who have served and sacrificed to protect them,&rdquo; Davis said. &ldquo;We are proud to have this flag flying at Lake Murray, and may it serve as a reminder of gratitude, unity, and service.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The ceremony concluded with Ballentine and CCLMC staff reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The American flag is now a permanent addition to the Lake Murray Destination Landmark, providing a visible symbol of gratitude, unity, freedom and service overlooking Lake Murray.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">CCLMC also expressed appreciation to Jones and the Rotary Club of Lake Murray-Irmo, Dominion Energy, the South Carolina Department of Transportation, KBS Landscape Architecture &amp; Planning, SC811 and Columbia Flag &amp; Banner for their contributions and support.<\/p>\n<p>Capital City\/Lake Murray Country is the official tourism organization for the Lake Murray Country region, which includes Columbia, Lake Murray, Lexington, Newberry, Richland and Saluda counties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>American flag raised at Lake Murray Destination Landmark IRMO, S.C. &mdash; A new American flag now flies at the Lake Murray Destination Landmark on the Irmo side of the Lake Murray Dam following a flag-raising ceremony Sept. 17 in recognition of Constitution Day. Staff from Capital City\/Lake Murray Country (CCLMC)<span class=\"more-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/18\/8976\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[31],"tags":[90,96],"class_list":["entry","author-john-griggs","post-8976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-community-news","tag-lake-murray","tag-lake-murray-country"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gpstrianglenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Lake-Murray-FLag_2026_630x350.jpg?fit=630%2C350&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}