Back in April there was some controversy about City Commissioner Dan Saltzman’s idea to lower the city flag to half mast on the day of each month corresponding to the number of children who died from violence, abuse or neglect in the previous month. But I don’t expect any controversy to meet this morning’s flag lowering, acknowledging the death of Eldon Jay Rebhan Smith from a tragic drowning last weekend. Saltzman’s office put out this release this morning:

Today, June 1, the flag of the City of Portland is lowered to half-staff to honor 4-year old Eldon Jay Rebhan Smith who died from a tragic drowning. City Council approved a resolution in April to lower the City’s flag in honor of children who die from abuse, neglect, or homicidal violence. Today is the first time that the City flag will be lowered for this purpose. “I am devastated to lower the City flag, but I hope that by honoring Eldon this way, we can bring awareness to the untimely deaths of our community’s children,” said City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who sponsored the resolution.

Rest in peace. There’s more reflections on the Sellwood Bridge incident at Nancy Rommelmann’s blog this morning.

Matt Davis was news editor of the Mercury from 2009 to May 2010.

6 replies on “Saltzman Lowers City Flag For Drowned Child”

  1. The only possible controversy is that there were several other area children who died under similar circumstances in the Portland area. To stop the counter at 1 seems strange.

  4. In what time frame? If the answer something other than “in the past month (or three),” the comment seems a touch disingenuous. All manner of dreadful things have happened here in the last century or so. Commence the anti-hoistings.

  5. In the past week, Amanda Jo Stott-Smith by throwing her son Eldon off the Sellwood Bridge (her 7-year-old daughter survived) (5/23) and Jim Gumm shooting his six- and seven-year-old children, and them himself (5/29). Both pieces have been widely reported by the Oregonian, albeit Stott-Smith on the front page, and Gumm on the front of Metro.

  6. Eldon is the kid the flag-lowering was about. That gives us one more incident, victims numbering two. Unfortunate, but certainly not “several”.

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