Poll: Should LIPA charge for flags on poles?

It was an opportunity for the people of Shelter Island to honor a fallen hero and his comrades by displaying the American flag. Along the way, however, LIPA managed to infuriate local lawmakers by enforcing a little-known fee to hang those flags on utility poles.

As town officials were making plans last month to commemorate a native son -- Army Lt. Joseph Theinert, who was killed June 4, 2010, by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan -- they said they received a call from a Long Island Power Authority representative. He told them of a $5-per-pole annual fee to hang flags along the parade route to be traveled by Theinert's troop members as part of last weekend's ceremonies.