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Red State Mayor Takes Heat Over Dolly Parton Tribute Snub

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Dolly Parton
Photo Credit: "Dolly Parton concert BIC Bournemouth" by pipilongstockings is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.

Olive Branch Mayor Ken Adams broke from President Donald Trump and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves after Dolly Parton’s death, arguing his city should not lower flags simply because a beloved American icon had died.

The Mississippi mayor’s stance landed as Parton was being honored in far louder ways around the country, from a Nashville airport-renaming drive to New York highway signs and a CNN tribute that accidentally showed a Las Vegas impersonator.

Parton died of cancer last week at 80. Trump ordered federal flags lowered for one week, while Reeves issued the same order for state flags.

Adams took a different position for Olive Branch and defended it online as a matter of protecting the meaning of the American flag, not slighting Parton.

“This isn’t about disrespecting Dolly Parton. It isn’t about politics. And it certainly isn’t about saying she wasn’t a great American,” Adams stated.

The mayor said half-staff flags should mark rare national moments, including military deaths, fallen first responders, presidents, major national leaders and events with a deep impact on the country.

“I believe lowering the American flag to half-staff should mean something very significant,” Adams said.

“In my opinion, it should be reserved for our military heroes, fallen first responders, presidents and other major national leaders, or events that have had a tremendous impact on our country,” he said.

Using the tribute too often, Adams warned, would “lessen the meaning of the gesture.”

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He also argued that city leaders have room to make their own call even when the president and governor have already acted.

“I also believe there is a role for local government in these decisions,” Adams said.

Adams pointed to Mississippi cities operating under Home Rule and said locally elected officials are responsible for deciding what fits the communities they represent.

“We have locally elected officials who are responsible for making decisions for the people we represent,” Adams said.

“I don’t believe that means we should disregard what the President or Governor decides,” he continued. “It means we have the ability to use our own judgment when appropriate.”

The flag fight reached its most defiant note when Adams rejected the idea that his job was to automatically follow higher officials.

“I also don’t believe residents elected me to be a ‘salute and execute’ Mayor but to lead with conviction,” Adams said.

He said the half-staff display is among the “highest honors” the country can offer and should be kept for “truly extraordinary circumstances.”

“Sometimes preserving the meaning of an honor means being selective about when we use it,” Adams said.

While Adams was resisting one form of tribute in Mississippi, CNN was apologizing for another one that went wrong.

About 12 hours after Parton died, “Laura Coates Live” aired an image of Kelly Vohnn, a 58-year-old Las Vegas tribute performer, during coverage of the singer’s death.

“We regret the error and apologize to the Parton family,” CNN said Thursday.

Vohnn told the California Post that friends started messaging her after the broadcast, even as she was mourning Parton herself.

“I started getting all these texts in from friends saying that I was on CNN, and I couldn’t believe it,” Vohnn said. “I was already heartbroken at losing Dolly because of how much she has given to me as a woman and an artist. But then to see these images of me on screen was just weird.”

The tribute performer said CNN had no shortage of real Parton images to choose from and should not have used hers.

“Somebody at CNN really messed up and didn’t do their research,” Vohnn said. “I felt so sorry and apologetic for Dolly, because over her career there are so many wonderful images and moments that they could have chosen from — and CNN just picked something not appropriate.”

Vohnn also made clear she has never presented herself as the real Parton.

“To be clear, I have never represented myself as being Dolly ever in my life,” she said. “I have always been known as a tribute act for her and many other stars.”

New York’s tribute came with a highway-safety headache.

Gov. Kathy Hochul put Parton-themed phrases on road signs across the state Thursday and Friday, using lines such as “Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, don’t speed” and “I will always love safe driving.”

The New York Post reported that the signs may have run afoul of Federal Highway Administration guidance issued under the Biden administration in December 2023.

The road-sign rules say messages must be “simple, direct, legible and clear.”

They also caution against pop-culture wording that could be “obscure” or “take greater time to process.”

In Tennessee, Parton’s home-state legacy became part of a push to put her name on Nashville International Airport.

Fans launched the online petition last year, but Parton’s death gave the effort new momentum. By Friday, it had more than 155,000 signatures.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and the CEO of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority have both backed the idea.

Lee said the airport discussion had already reached Parton’s representatives.

“At a place where Tennessee welcomes the world, it is fitting that Nashville International Airport would bear the name of our state’s favorite daughter and greet travelers with the enduring legacy of Dolly’s music, generosity, faith, and kindness,” Lee said.

The governor’s office said the airport authority will discuss the proposal and its naming policy at a Sept. 17 meeting.

If the renaming goes through, Parton would become the first woman whose name adorns one of America’s 50 busiest airports.

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