By JOSH AULT
6 News Reporter
JAMESTOWN (WATE) - A complaint forced Fentress County school officials in March to remove the Ten Commandments from being posted in Pine Haven Elementary in Jamestown.
The decision caused a public uproar. A public meeting was held at the Fentress County Courthouse shortly after the removal to talk about the issue.
Now a new Tennessee law allowing historical documents in public buildings has reversed that decision.
"I absolutely think the Ten Commandments and all this documentation is a great thing to post in our schools," said Cindy Smith, a Jamestown resident. "It's part of our heritage."
Smith, who is the owner of Advance Imaging in Jamestown, was asked by Fentress County school officials about a month ago to design and print new copies of the Ten Commandments.
Along with the Ten Commandments, officials decided to hang two other historical documents on either side, the Star Spangled Banner and the Pledge of Allegiance.
"We will have a black mat around them and there'll be opening, three openings out in the mat, so the documents show through," explained Blue Mountain Arts and Framing owner Sherry Thacker.
Thacker was hired to frame the documents. She says they will be ready to go in two weeks.
"I think that's a good thing," Thacker said. "I think it pleases many people. I think it's a good thing to have that choice to have the Ten Commandments."
Even though the controversy started at Pine Haven Elementary School, the Ten Commandments will be displayed in all county schools.
"It will go in all four elementary schools and in the Clarkrange High School," said Smith. "All the county-owned schools will be provided with a framed print of this."
"For this community it's a wonderful thing," Jamestown Church of Christ minister Phil Adams said. "This community was very upset when they were taken out. They are historical documents. They are from our founding. They are who we are as a people. They belong there."
Even though the Ten Commandments are going back up in Fentress County schools, many people we spoke with here feel the controversy is still not over.
"I'm pretty sure there will be more controversy," Adams said. "This community is strong enough to get through it."
Along with the Ten Commandments, officials decided to hang two other historical documents on either side, the Star Spangled Banner and the Pledge of Allegiance.
"I absolutely think the Ten Commandments and all this documentation is a great thing to post in our schools," said Cindy Smith, owner of Advance Imaging in Jamestown.
"I think that's a good thing," said Blue Mountain Arts and Framing owner Sherry Thacker. "I think it pleases many people."
"For this community it's a wonderful thing," Jamestown Church of Christ minister Phil Adams said.
