“Resign now” is the message readers are sending to the mayor and two city commissioners

Historic City News subscribers, furious at the total disregard shown for the will of the overwhelming majority of citizens who want the 1879 war memorial in the Plaza de la Constitution to be left unharmed, are demanding the resignation of mayor Tracy Upchurch, two commissioners and the city manager.

Residents and taxpayers are forced to take a backseat to the whims and personal agendas of elected and appointed city officials in St Augustine, say members of a growing group of patriotic citizens that are ready to fight to regain their rights.

Two non-profit veterans organizations and the surviving descendants of the forty-six local soldiers whose bodies were never returned back to the city for a Christian burial, have filed suit in Circuit Court and made an application for an injunction to stop a planned move of the memorial until such time as the proper professional inspections can be completed.

According to Deland attorney, John Terhune, Esq., who represents the plaintiffs. the hearing for the injunction will not be until Friday.

Historic City News is being told that the clear consensus of the group is that until the city’s Historical Architectural Review Board can evaluate and comment on the application and time is granted to undertake a comprehensive archeological dig, nothing should be tampered with at the site; which is listed as a contributing property on the National Register of Historic Places.

Many, including an architect and a civil engineer familiar with the memorial, have warned that attempting to move the authentic historic artifact would likely cause irreparable damage.