by Stan Griffin
Under pressure from the A.C.L.U. (American Civil Liberties Union) and a federal court, school officials in one southwest Ohio county gave in and allowed workmen to take away 800-pound granite tablets bearing the Ten Commandments which had been erected at four public schools in 1997.
At all four sites in Adams County, crowds of spectators and protestors gathered around the tablets, trying to slow the progress of removal. Sheriff’s deputies eventually moved in and cleared the work area. Twenty-one people were cited for trespassing, but the school board later declined to prosecute.
In 1999 Magistrate Timothy Hogan ruled that the monuments had to go because it was " ... unconstitutional for public schools to endorse a particular religion ..." It was the school board’s contention that a majority of parents approved the installation of the markers. A four-year legal debate followed before the events of June 9.
Onlookers carried signs: "God Bless America," "Stand Up for Your Rights," and "Ban the A.C.L.U." Others held hands and sang "Amazing Grace." A minister present said, "This is our religious right. This is our freedom of speech."
After the delay caused by a crowd of 200 or so, cranes removed the Ten Commandments displays from Peebles High School, West Union High School, North Adams, and Manchester High School.
A spokesperson for the A. C. L. U. said, "Americans don’t vote on which religion is most popular and gets to have its message spread to governmental bodies."
After all four tablets had been taken away on trucks, the protestors, Sheriff Kermit Howard and his deputies, and school officials joined in a prayer.
The board promised to appeal the decision. They are optimistic about their chances later this year when their case is argued before the U. S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
Three of the tablets are in temporary storage, and the fourth will be displayed in a store window in West Union.