Cross Removed From City Water Tower, Sort Of

When the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which campaigns for the removal of any religious signs or symbols from public property, threatened to sue the town of Whiteville, Tenn., for having a cross on top of its water tower, mayor James Bellar complied in his own way by having one side of the cross cut off -- and then hundreds of crosses of all sizes began springing up in residents' yards all over town, according to Memphis' News Channel 3. "They actually started a ripple effect," one resident, Jamia Robinson, said. "You complain about one and now you've got crosses in everybody's yard. ... It symbolizes that we as a community still have faith. Just because you don't believe doesn't mean we don't. They can take that cross down but they can't take the crosses out of our yards." The town has banded together in its efforts: One merchant is building crosses with donated wood from the lumberyard, and volunteers are helping residents set them up. Meanwhile, Freedom From Religion called off plans to sue Whiteville, but called the town's reaction "bizarre" and said it would be watching.