ST. CLOUD, Fla. -- A 12-foot lighted cross that sat atop the city water tower for more than two decades was removed Friday and another cross planted in its place in an effort by residents to satisfy a federal court order.
The old wooden cross, considered a landmark in rural Osceola County, became a symbol of contention in 1987, when a Jewish resident filed suit to have it removed on grounds it violated the constitutional concept of church and state separation.
With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, Jewish Osceola County resident Ronald Mendelson convinced Orlando U.S. District Judge G. Kendall Sharp the cross was a religious symbol and had no place on government property.
Sharp ordered Aug. 16 the removal of the Latin cross, the most common cross shape with the vertical axis longer than the horizontal.
But Sharp told residents they probably could pass court scrutiny if they replaced the cross with an X-shaped structure and added lettering declaring St. Cloud crossroads of the world, or something similar.
Friday, a Greek cross without any labeling was displayed. The legs of the cross are of equal length.
'It's a sad day in America,' said Kathryn Wolf, leader of the town's save-the-cross movement, 'when city workers have to be up there ... doing the communist work of the ACLU.'
ACLU officials said they would have to consider filing a new lawsuit against the city if Mendelson was still willing to be the plaintiff.
'Our position all along has been that a religious symbol -- whether it's a Latin cross, a Greek cross, a Star of David or a satanic symbol - should not be allowed on government property,' said Ron Ross, president of the Orlando-area ACLU chapter.
Town officials, meanwhile, insisted they would not pay a bill for $162,000 the ACLU presented to the town council. In ruling against the town, Sharpe also said St. Cloud would have to pay all legal fees in the dispute.
ACLU lawyer Howard Marks said the sum represented about 500 hours of work over more than two years. He admitted, however, that had Mendelson lost the ACLU probably would not have charged him anything.
Mayor Richard Wood said the ACLU shouldn't charge the town anything either, but he figured $50,000 would probably be a fair settlement.
