Aug. 6, 2006
 
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Legal Fund Started to Keep Jesus Picture in Bridgeport High School
 
Dear Editor: On August 3, 2006, the Harrison County Board of Education (school board) voted to allow a portrait of Jesus to continue to hang at Bridgeport High School (BHS)...for now.
 
BHS and the school board were sued by the national ACLU in Federal District Court for allowing a portrait of Jesus to hang in the principal's office at the school. According to former teachers and BHS graduates, the portrait of Jesus has been hanging in the same place for more than 37 years.
 
Now the school board needs the community's help!
 
The school board does not (and some argue that they cannot) want to spend any tax dollars on legal fees associated with the ACLU lawsuit. The school board's attorney has estimated that legal fees could be as much as $150,000 if the ACLU wins. This is a tremendous amount of money.
 
At the school board's last meeting, a group of citizens approached the board with a request to help raise funds to pay the legal fees. The citizens, led by BHS Class of 1956 graduates Jim McDonald (from Erie, PA) and Mayf Nutter (from Bakersfield, CA), said that they "didn't want to see the school board spend one dime on legal fees".
 
McDonald and Nutter said that if the Board would keep the portrait up until the next meeting, they would help organize private donors and try to raise the $150,000 to cover the legal fees. After hearing from several others in the audience who asked the school board to "stand up and fight the ACLU", the school board voted 3-2 to keep the portrait hanging at the school until the board's next meeting on August 15th.
 
We have less than 10 days to raise $150,000!
 
If we can raise the money, then I believe that the school board will move forward with the lawsuit. The school board still have several offers for legal help to fight the ACLU from Christian organizations from throughout the country. If the school board decides to fight...then these groups and their legal teams will help us!
 
NOTE: The school board cannot afford to take a chance on losing this lawsuit and having to pay $150,000 in legal fees. If we are not successful in our fundraising, I fear that the school board may have no other choice but to order the removal of the portrait.
 
INFORMATION ON THE FUNDRAISING EFFORT
 
Donations to the legal defense fund will go into a special trust account at BB&T Bank in Clarksburg, WV. Donations from individuals or corporations must be made by check or money order payable to: "Christian Freedom Fund"
 
and mailed to:
 
Post Office Box 907, Clarksburg, West Virginia 26302-0907
 
Donations are tax-deductible and will be accepted until August 15, 2006. There is no minimum and no maximum as to how much you can donate to this effort. All contributions are sincerely appreciated!
 
Contributions to the "Christian Freedom Fund" will be donated to the Harrison County Board of Education to be used only for legal fees regarding this lawsuit only. If for some reason the lawsuit is dropped or if the school board decides not to fight, all donations will be returned to the donors.
 
Organizers of the Christian Freedom Fund ask our friends to NOT donate to this effort if your donation comes from money that would have normally gone to other charitable organizations. We don't want donations that would have gone to your church, local youth sports teams, boosters clubs, United Way, scouting, etc. These organizations really do depend on your financial support and we don't want to take that support away from them.
 
Rather, we are asking that you consider a donation IN ADDITION to what you regularly donate to other good and worthy causes.
 
We don't have a lot of time...and time is quickly running out. If you are in a position to do so, please send us a contribution today. Any amount is appreciated.
 
You can also help us by forwarding this email on to your family, friends and neighbors. We need to get the word out to potential supporters all over the United States. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me.
 
Finally, and most important, your prayers regarding the success of this effort are also very important and sincerely appreciated.
 
Sincerely,
 
Mike Queen