Monument may still be raised

BEDFORD, Ind. -- A private group is working to raise the money to erect in Lawrence County the Ten Commandments monument that federal courts will not allow on the Statehouse lawn.\nRep. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, said the not-for-profit Ten Commandments Foundation would try to buy land at a high-profile location on which to set the stone that displays the Ten Commandments and text of some United States historical documents.\nGov. Frank O'Bannon dropped efforts to erect the monument at the Statehouse after the U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to hear the state's appeal of a lower court's ruling that the monument was unconstitutional.\nPlans for the display in Bedford include a 360-degree walkway around the 9 1/2-ton limestone monument, which will be lighted and protected by an iron fence, Steele said.\nSteele led the drive to place the monument at the Statehouse, soliciting production of the stone from the Indiana Limestone Institute in 2000.\n"Thousands of people came to Bedford while the monument sat on the (Lawrence County) Courthouse lawn -- people from out of town," Steele said. "Grown men would walk up and reach over and tenderly touch the stone, and tears would run down their cheeks."\nThe monument was outside the Lawrence County Courthouse for about three weeks in the fall of 2000 before a federal judge ordered its removal.\n"I have received many phone calls since last week's court decision. People and organizations from all over are mad, and they want to help," Steele said. "I want to give them a good conduit to receive their support"