A squad of Catoosa County cheerleaders is urging some Texas teens not to back down from their legal fight over Bible scriptures painted on football banners.
Three years ago, concerns over religious symbolism at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School events sparked a debate over the separation of church and state. The Catoosa school district banned Biblical scriptures from game day banners before the end of the 2009 season, leaving the cheerleaders and the supporters disappointed.
Hannah Walden and Sarah Corley were freshmen at LFO during the debate. Now seniors, they remember when they were allowed to paint Bible scriptures on their game day banners for the football team.
"They were more than just signs for us, it was a tradition," said Corley.
"Everybody in the school in the school liked it. All the cheerleaders agreed to do it. None of us were like, ‘I'm not a Christian. I'm not doing that.' If they were, then we wouldn't have done it," said Hannah Walden.
Now, a similar debate has erupted 800 miles away at the comparably-size Kountze High School, located just outside of Houston, Texas.
Cheerleaders there say they were inspired by the LFO squad to paint scriptures on their banners. When faced with a constitutional challenge from the same critics and a ban on their new game day practice, they headed to court.
Walden and Corley say they miss the tradition and now they're rooting for the girls in Texas who say they want to express their religious freedom on the field.
On Thursday, a judge decided to extend the order lifting the ban while the case is reviewed by constitutional experts. The cheerleaders in Texas will be allowed to paint Bible verses on their banners while the case is scrutinized.
Girls from the LFO squad believe a legal win in Texas may inspire other squads to begin the practice -- something they say they really miss doing in Catoosa County.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 11:19 PM EDT2013-06-20 03:19:10 GMT
A police officer, a deputy and a nurse are being called heroes for saving an elderly man's life.
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Georgia's right to life group is in a dispute with the national pro-lifers.
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The actor James Gandolfini, best known for his award-winning portrayal of New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano in the HBO series "The Sopranos," has died in Italy. He was 51.
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Joe Torre's daughter caught a 1-year-old boy who fell from a fire escape outside a second-floor apartment in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn Wednesday morning.
Joe Torre's daughter caught a 1-year-old boy who fell from a fire escape outside a second-floor apartment in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn Wednesday morning.
New York state and Eastman Kodak Co. have reached a deal that will keep some of the troubled company's operations in Rochester and provide $49 million for environmental cleanup at the once bustling Eastman...
New York state and Eastman Kodak Co. have reached a deal that will keep some of the troubled company's operations in Rochester and provide $49 million for environmental cleanup at the once bustling Eastman Business Park.
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Franklin Reyes, 17, was in court Wednesday. He is charged with the death of 4-year-old Ariel Russo.
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More than 70 percent of New Jersey residents have seen or heard the state's "Stronger than the Storm" advertising campaign, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll.
More than 70 percent of New Jersey residents have seen or heard the state's "Stronger than the Storm" advertising campaign, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll.
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The FBI has found possible human remains in a dig at the New York City house once occupied by a famous gangster. An FBI spokesman confirmed Wednesday that agents found material that they want to test as part of an investigation.
The FBI has found possible human remains in a dig at the New York City house once occupied by a famous gangster. An FBI spokesman confirmed Wednesday that agents found material that they want to test as part of an investigation.
