The Chabad Jewish Discovery Center received a permit to place its nine-foot-tall lighted menorah at Sylvester Park in downtown Olympia, where it plans a community menorah lighting at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
A permit for a nativity set similar to what was placed there last year was also granted to Hunter M. Abell of Bothell and Ron Wesselius of Thurston County.
The Christian depiction of the birth of Jesus is going on the west campus lawn near the Winged Victory statue – a couple hundred feet from an atheists’ display.
The third permit was issued to the Freedom from Religion Foundation based in Madison, Wis., which has put up a placard Tivoli Fountain and Capitol Way on the west campus lawn to mark the winter solstice.
“Each [requester] got the location requested. We did not deliberately space them this way,” Enterprise Services spokesman Steve Valandra said in an email Tuesday.
The message on the atheists’ placard declares the season of the winter solstice and asks: “Let Reason Prevail.’’ But it goes on to say there are “no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell.” The full text is here.
Wesselius sued the state several years ago when he was denied a permit for a nativity inside the Capitol Rotunda. But a ruckus over having displays by atheists close by in 2009 led to a policy change that requires any religious display to receive a permit and be sited outdoors.
UPDATE to original 8:02 p.m. post on Dec. 20: Enterprise Services says sponsors of the nativity display want it closer to Capitol Way, which brings it closer to the atheists' placard. But the two displays remain separated by two sidewalks and lawn, according to this updated map.
