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Michigan Township Will Vote On Tax To Buy Property Surrounding Cross

By Howard M. Friedman

Lost in the furor over Michigan's Presidential primary is the fact that the state has a primary for state and local offices scheduled for August 5. Voters in Cross Village Township will also be casting their ballots on an unusual tax measure. The Harbor Springs (MI) Harbor Light reported two weeks ago on the proposed .25 mill levy to permit the township to purchase the property after which the township is named. More information is in an editorial in today's Petoskey News-Review. The property, on which sits a large white cross first put up by a Jesuit missionary, is currently owned by Tom Graham. Graham is willing to sell the property overlooking Lake Michigan to the township for the below-market-price of $150,000. To try to avoid church-state concerns, he would also donate a 20 x 20 foot plot actually surrounding the cross to Little Traverse Conservancy, a private land trust. The News-Review's editorial argues: "There has been a cross standing in Cross Village in one form or another since the late 17th century. In our eyes the cross in Cross Village is a monument, less a religious symbol and more of a historic representation of white settler impact in the region."

Full post as published by Religion Clause on June 10, 2008 (boomark / email).