Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Happy Holidays 2006

Nativity scene wasn't a statement, donors say

By EILEEN SCHULTE
Published January 5, 2007

SAFETY HARBOR - Dave Perrego says he and his wife weren't trying to make a political statement when they donated a nativity scene to the city.

The Oldsmar couple had attended a function last month at the Gazebo at John Wilson Park and noticed a menorah and Christian-oriented decorations.

"They had wreaths, Santas and a tree, but there was something missing," Perrego said. "We were completing the picture. It's not like a political statement we wanted to make."

Perrego said he and his wife, former Safety Harbor residents, asked officials whether they would like a creche, "and they said, 'Oh, yes, we haven't had a nativity scene in 13 years'."

The couple went to four stores before finding a display they liked, then they gave it to the city around Dec. 19. Workers set it up on the lawn. The city sent them a thank you note.

Perrego said he was shocked when he drove by City Hall a few days later and noticed it was gone.

"I thought it had been vandalized," he said.

A friend told him about a story in the St. Petersburg Times concerning a complaint by a Safety Harbor resident that the creche violated the separation of church and state. City Manager Billy Beckett had the nativity figures removed Dec. 21 until the city attorney could determine whether any laws were being broken.

Assistant City Attorney Todd Burbine concluded the city couldn't promote one religion over another, and because it had two menorahs, the nativity could go back on display.

But Beckett decided to remove the menorahs Dec. 27 because Hanukkah was over, and because the menorahs were taken down, he chose not to put the creche back on the lawn and risk a lawsuit. Win or lose, it would cost the city money, he said.

"It was the prudent thing to do," Beckett said. "It was a pragmatic decision."

Then, he echoed Perrego's words.

"We're not here to make a political statement," Beckett said.

Beckett said the couple is free to retrieve the nativity scene.

But Perrego said he won't take it back because it was a gift. He said he feels as if he's been "trounced on by the city."

"We felt abandoned," he said. "We gave a gift. It was a celebration of the season, that's all."

He said the city never told him the nativity scene had been placed in storage.

At a City Commission meeting Tuesday, Margo Perrego said she and her husband "didn't intend to raise any problems" and that they were "just trying to complement the menorah."

She also told commissioners she feels as if her First Amendment rights have been violated.

"I feel like my free speech has been hindered here," Margo Perrego said.

On Wednesday, Dave Perrego said he met with Beckett to discuss the situation.

"I told him I didn't want it back (and that) I want the thing to be used for what it was intended," Dave Perrego said. "He's got a year to think about it."

But he said if Beckett doesn't display the creche next year, he has "no intention of any legal remedies."

"I'm more hurt," Dave Perrego said. "I feel bad. I don't feel anger."

Eileen Schulte can be reached at (727) 445-4153 or schulte@sptimes.com.

[Last modified January 5, 2007, 07:23:50]