Chippewa County's Buildings and Grounds Committee voted 5-0 Thursday to leave the Jason Zunker memorial alone for now while the panel that created it considers a compromise.
The committee pushed back a Sept. 11 deadline to remove one of three tablets in the memorial because of religious words contained on the stone.
The wording comes from a letter Zunker wrote his first day on the job with the Chippewa County Sheriff's Department. The letter was written in the event he was killed in the line of duty:
"I don't feel that I've gone too soon. I feel lucky every day God keeps me here. When I die, I know where I'm going. Don't be sad because the Bible says it's greater than anyone can even imagine. When it's you're time to see it, you will, but never before it. Don't do anything stupid. I want to make sure I see you all again someday. You must ask Jesus into your heart, believe he died for you and believe he rose again. Live a good life. Ask for forgiveness and believe I will see all of you again. I love you all and thank God for the time that I had with each and every one of you. I love you all. Thank you all for a good life."
The memorial was unveiled in July, honoring the Hawthorne native and Chippewa County sheriff's deputy killed in the line of duty Jan. 5, 2008.
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Bill Reynolds, the county's administrator, proposed leaving the memorial as it is, with the stipulation that the Zunker Committee be responsible for all costs associated with a potential lawsuit over the memorial's wording; Reynolds said the county would provide what he called internal legal support if a lawsuit is filed, according to the Chippewa Herald.
Duane Zunker, Jason's father, said the committee that created the memorial is expected to meet tonight. He said he would know more after the meeting.
The deadline was pushed back to Oct. 1.
