CITY PANEL: KEEP THE MONUMENT

A second La Crosse Common Council committee has backed keeping a Ten
Commandments monument in Cameron Park.

The Judiciary and Administration Committee voted unanimously to deny a
request by the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation to remove the
stone marker erected in 1965.

The vote came after a 35-minute public hearing, during which four people
spoke for removal of the monument and 10 spoke for keeping it. About 30
people came to City Hall for the issue, most to support having the monument
stay in the park.

Those supporters leaned heavily on the argument that the effort to have it
removed was coming from outsiders. Yet six of the monument's supporters
came from cities other than La Crosse, while all who spoke against the
monument were La Crosse residents.

Supporters also argued that the Fraternal Order of Eagles put up the marker
to honor La Crosse's youths for their efforts in fighting the flood of
1965. The effort to have the monument removed is "a slap in the face to the
youth," said Dan Stokes. "If anything, we should put a floodlight on it so
we can see it at night."

Myrna Peacock, who spoke for removal of the monument, said the Commandments
form the basis of her faith and are all good rules to live by. She said if
the city wants to display the Commandments, maybe they should be listed in
a different way "so it's not a religious statement."

Former mayoral candidate Chip DeNure said the monument should be removed
because it shows favoritism to Christianity over other religions. "It puts
the city in a position of promoting some religions over others, and that's
wrong," DeNure said. "If there was a statue of Buddha, I'd want it out of
there."

Defending the monument against legal challenge also would be a waste of
taxpayers' money, DeNure said.

The request to remove the Ten Commandments monument followed a May 29 U.S.
Supreme Court decision to let stand a lower court ruling against display of
the Commandments at an Elkhart, Ind., city building.

The La Crosse Park Board, the first city committee to weigh in on the
issue, voted 4-1 July 19 to keep the monument. One committee member abstained.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation had once before challenged the
monument in the 1980s, losing in court on the grounds that the organization
lacked legal standing.

Mayor John Medinger had asked the Judiciary and Administration Committee to
forward the issue to the council's Committee of the Whole without
recommendation. But after a half-hour closed session to consult with City
Attorney Pat Houlihan, the committee voted 6-0 to deny the request to move
the monument.

Cat Licenses

The committee also approved increases in annual license fees for cats, to
make them the same as what the city charges for dogs.

Dave Geske, who supervises animal control for La Crosse County, argued for
the change in fees, saying cat control costs are higher than dog control.
Dog owners, he said, also are more likely to claim their animals when
impounded.

Under the new fee structure, license fees for an unfixed dog or cat would
be $10, while the fee for a dog or cat that had been spayed or neutered
would be $5.

The ordinance change also adds catteries to the section on kennel fees,
increasing the permit fee to $35.

Committee member Phil Addis was the sole vote against the measure.

Marijuana Ordinance

The committee took no action on a request by La Crosse County Circuit Court
Judge John Perlich and four other judges for an ordinance that would allow
the option of making first-time marijuana possession an ordinance violation
instead of a crime.

Perlich said the district attorney and the police have the option of making
many crimes an ordinance violation.

It costs more to prosecute criminal marijuana cases, Perlich said, and a
marijuana conviction will cost a college-bound person access to federal
financial aid.

"We think that right now the penalty for first-offense marijuana possession
is too harsh," Perlich said.

Police Chief Ed Kondracki strongly disagreed, saying the drug trade costs
police officers' lives, and decriminalizing possession would send the wrong
message.

Committee member Charles Clemence agreed with Perlich, and made a motion
directing the city attorney to draft an ordinance. The motion died for lack
of a second.

In other business, the committee also denied a request to erect a cellular
tower near Hillview Healthcare Center, then backed a six-month moratorium
on approval of new cellular towers.