Replacing airing their displeasure at a government meeting with a roadside protest, those strongly against Osceola County’s new logo showed their disdain Monday outside the County Administration building.
In the afternoon hours prior to the County Commission’s scheduled evening meeting, nearly tw o dozen protestors also held signs along Emmett Street.
To this group of protestors outside of the County Administration building, the new multi-colored kaleidoscope of a logo represents an erasure of its heritage of ranching and being a small town-minded community. The county logo used since the 1980s depicted cattle and a steamboat, a legacy industry, and a mode for the transport of goods through the area a century ago.
One protestor, Kissimmee’s JoAnn Colonna, said the group held the protest because it cannot address Commissioners about the new logo, unveiled at the Oct. 6 State of the County Address, during a meeting if it is not a Commission agenda item.
“We’re not allowed to speak because it’s not what ‘they’ call appropriate,” said Colonna, who attempted to speak about it during the Oct. 11 ‘Hear the Audience’ portion but was admonished, then removed from the meeting. “This is something that affects residents every day.
“They say we can email or call to record our comments (on non agenda items). I’ve made at least calls and emails to each of the five commissioners. This is our way of demonstrating, if we can’t speak at the meeting.”
Leslie Gray of St. Cloud took to a bullhorn outside of the building to share her view that Osceola County “is not California.”
“We are small-town Florida that represents tradition,” she said. “This does not represent the will of the people. Small-town values matter.”
St. Cloud’s Jayne Smithers said Commission Chairman Brandon Arrington, who admonished protestors at last week’s meeting and called some of their social media posts “hateful”.
“Brandon owes the Christian community an apology, we are not hateful,” she said. “What are they going to surprise us with next?”
Arrington was not present at Monday’s meeting. Viviana Janer, the vice chair, ran the meeting, starting with reading statement at the start reminding those about the Hear the Audience guidelines of speaking only on items on the agenda.
A handful of those who protested hours before attended the meeting and brought their signs, but did not speak, and left midway through the meeting.
At last week’s meeting, Commissioner Ricky Booth, who represents eastern and southern Osceola County residents, said he’d like to hold a public forum to discuss any future movement on the new logo.
