Lowndesboro couple writes $25K check to cover fine for Hayneville Confederate monument removal

Published 11:02 am Friday, August 28, 2020

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A Lowndesboro resident has donated $25,000 to the Lowndes County Commission to take care of a fine imposed by the state on the commission for removing the Confederate memorial in Hayneville.

In June, the commission voted unanimously to remove the monument that stood in front of the Lowndes County Courthouse on the courthouse square.

At the time, District 5 Commission Dickson Farrior made the motion to remove the monument.

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Alabama has a state law that preserves monuments that are more than 50 years old and the removal of those calls for the fine.

The statute was erected by the United Daughters of Confederacy years ago.

On Monday night, Jeff Berry and his wife, Liz, attended the commission meeting and applauded the commission for their effort to unify.

The Berrys wrote a $25,000 check to the commission to cover the fine.

The commission accepted it, but approved a memorandum of understanding for the assessment of civil penalty but did not admit fault for breaking the state’s preservation law.