METHUEN, Mass. -- Just one day after he was forced by the state to remove them, Jim Sereigo-Wareing will be back on Howe Street Dec. 7 hanging up flags in honor of local Soldiers.

The Eagle-Tribune reported yesterday that MassHighway banned the patriotic displays because of safety concerns, but within hours of removing the flags, Gov. Deval Patrick intervened.

Andy Jimenez, father of Lawrence Soldier Alex Jimenez, was with Sereigo-Wareing yesterday afternoon as they removed a POW/MIA flag in honor of Alex, who has been missing in Iraq since May.

The governor, who is on a seven-day trade mission in China, ordered MassHighway to stop its plans to remove any banners, flags, ribbons or other patriotic items that hang on bridges across the state, according to a statement released late yesterday afternoon.

Sereigo-Wareing's displays, and others, will be allowed to remain for the next month, while state officials convene a group of transportation officials and veterans representatives to find a new alternative to support Soldiers. Patriotic displays have been popular in the Merrimack Valley since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Today, Sereigo-Wareing will be back on the Carl Woekel Memorial Bridge on Howe Street over Route 213 to re-hang some of the flags.

The whole ordeal has been frustrating, Sereigo-Wareing said.

"Again, the state didn't think things through. I have to see what they say (for alternatives)," Sereigo-Wareing said.

MassHighway spokesman Erik Abell said the governor's directive was a "clarification" to MassHighway's intentions to find alternatives to honor Soldiers.

Since news of the flag ban was reported in The Eagle-Tribune yesterday, Sereigo-Wareing has appeared on local and national radio and television. Crews filmed him removing flags yesterday afternoon and he was scheduled to appear on a national morning television show today.

"I'm glad the governor did get involved," Sereigo-Wareing said. "I'm upset that he did not get involved in the beginning. Politically, the governor doesn't want to be looked at as the one that wants to take patriotic displays down and issued this directive to come up with alternatives."

The same thing happened last year when MassHighway ordered all displays to be removed. At that time, following a report in The Eagle-Tribune, the state reversed its position to ban flags, calling it a "miscommunication" and allowed Sereigo-Wareing to keep his displays because they are secured and maintained.

In an interview last week, a MassHighway spokesman said the state doesn't want anything hanging over its bridges because of safety. A spokesman said the banners and flags could fall on a passing vehicle causing an accident.

Under the governor's order, Secretary of Veterans Services Tom Kelley and MassHighway Commissioner Luisa Paiewonsky will convene a group of veterans representatives and transportation officers to develop a plan to honor veterans on MassHighway and other agency-owned property, according to the statement from the governor.

"MassHighway will not complete the removal of displays until the task force identifies an appropriate and safe means of honoring veterans on state-owned transportation properties," the statement said.

The group is expected to have a plan by the end of the month.

MassHighway has already been working on alternative ways to honor troops, Abell said last week. Among the ideas was installing a permanent "Welcome home troops" sign at state rest stops. Sereigo-Wareing said rest stops do not have the same visibility or impact as the bridges.

For local veterans, the banners have had an impact.

Randy Carter of Lawrence returned from active duty in the Middle East with the Air Force in 2004. His wife drove a different route home so the couple could pass under Howe Street and Carter could see the banner hanging in his honor.

"That meant more to me than anything," Carter said. "Just to know people are remembering the guys over there and that someone cared enough to put your name up there."

Carter hopes his son, Craig, 24, can have the same feeling. Craig Carter is serving his second tour in Iraq with the Air Force.

"The little things mean a lot," said Carter, now retired from the Air Force. "(Sereigo-Wareing) does it tastefully."

Sereigo-Wareing said the flags have personal messages and that won't be reflected if the state decided to use generic signs on highways.

"That's the reason why I do it -- it's a personal note to their service," Sereigo-Wareing said. "If anyone knew what a family went through. (Military service) is a toll on all these families."

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