CLARKSBURG - A federal judge Wednesday approved the settlement of the Jesus of Bridgeport case, which two county residents brought against the Harrison County Board of Education.
Judge Irene Keeley signed the settlement order, ending, for now, any disputes over the separation of church and state in Harrison County.
The case involved a portrait of Jesus that hung in the halls of Bridgeport High School for almost 40 years. The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State teamed with plaintiffs Harold Sklar and Jacqueline McKenzie to bring the federal suit in June.
The Harrison school board originally voted to fight it, but after the portrait was stolen - it has yet to be recovered - it gave up.
Judge stamps Jesus settlement
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