The Freedom From Religion Foundation wants Chippewa County to remove a memorial to a deputy from Hawthorne who was killed in the line of duty. Mike Simonson reports from Superior.

In an e-mail sent today, they say the monument has religious comments from the deputy, making it unconstitutional.

The furor began shortly after Chippewa County approved the six foot memorial for the courthouse lawn this summer. It quotes deceased Deputy Jason Zunker encouraging people to read the bible and believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. An effort by the county to remove the tablet got reaction from around the country. But to Annie Laurie Gaylor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, religion can’t be on government property.

“They caved in and shouldn’t have. They have an obligation to stand up for the Constitution that they took office to uphold that Constitution. They have an obligation to all the citizens of Chippewa Falls that they not appear to be endorsing Christianity and actually proselytizing bystanders by telling them they’re supposed to believe in Jesus and read the bible.”

So her letter to Chippewa County board members asks the memorial be moved to private property. That won’t happen, says board chairman Richard Schoch (shook)…unless legal fees mount from a lawsuit.

“We’ll want to see what that committee does. If they come up with a way to indemnify the county is all we can do.”

Deputy Zunker was killed in January of 2008 while directing traffic around a crash on Highway 53 near Bloomer. Zunker graduated from Superior Senior High School.

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