Spearditch closer to erecting cement Jesus

Spearditch has become a scary little town.

Recall Mary Garrigan's piece in the Rapid City Journal that the stupid hamlet wants a Ceement Jaysus:

Rand Williams, a Spearfish real estate entrepreneur, said he is envisioning a multimillion-dollar statue along the lines of Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer, a 125-foot tall statue that draws tourists to the Brazilan city, that would sit on a two-acre parcel of city land.

Mr. Williams purchased the former Passion Play site and now has been divinely inspired to erect a ferrocement statue on that ground seized after a treaty giving the land to indigenous was voided by Congress.

The statue, tentatively titled “Who Do You Say That I Am?” was initially proposed in February 2013 to be located on city-owned land near the Passion Play Amphitheater. “In order for it to be seen on the hilltop, it will have to be bigger than life-size,” Williams said in a prepared statement. Exactly how large, though, he declined to speculate. Williams is contributing $100,000 as seed money to the project and has started a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. [Mark Watson, New plan, location announced for Christ sculpture, Black Hills Pioneer]

The board of directors for Our Lady of the Rockies wants to acknowledge the outpouring of support and concern for Our Lady following the recent prank that resulted in Our Lady being turned red. To that end we are working with the local authorities to address the issue to make sure the young adults involved in the incident know the seriousness of their actions and to ensure that nothing like this happens again. We are hopeful that this incident will result in a better understanding of the importance of Our Lady and the sacred place she holds in our community. [letter, Montana Standard]

Montana's christian earth hater attorney general has entered the fray enveloping the mostly life-sized christus figure on Whitefish Mountain.

Attorney General Tim Fox and the American Legion filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as it considers the legal challenge by the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation. Fox is asking the court to uphold a federal judge’s August ruling that allows the Forest Service to reissue a 10-year permit for the statue that has stood at Whitefish Mountain Resort for decades. A permanent Catholic shrine on public land is prohibited under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the group said in its appeal. The group’s co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor said Wednesday that the attorney general’s stance is disappointing but not surprising. “It’s par for the course with public officials these days,” she said. [Lisa Baumann, Great Falls Tribune]

Pope Francis makes Biblical case for addressing climate change: 'If we destroy creation, creation will destroy us' http://t.co/ue7WuG7xjr
— Climate Progress (@climateprogress) May 21, 2014

"I am...designating the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks region a National Monument." —President Obama #MonumentsMatter pic.twitter.com/WWgCnweXIZ
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 21, 2014