Ryan Beckwith

The N&O and the Dome are all a twitter today with the story of L.F. Eason, a career state employee who decided he didn't want to lower the flag to honor Jesse Helms at his lab in Raleigh, as directed by the Governor. Here's the story as it ran in the newspaper, and as written by Ryan Beckwith.

L.F. Eason III gave up the only job he'd ever had rather than lower a flag to honor former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms. Eason, a 29-year veteran of the state Department of Agriculture, instructed his staff at a small Raleigh lab not to fly the U.S. or North Carolina flags at half-staff Monday, as called for in a directive to all state agencies by Gov. Mike Easley.