INGLIS -- The words just flowed from Carolyn Risher's pen as she sat at the kitchen table Halloween night. She wrote fast, ignoring commas and periods.
When the Inglis mayor finished, she put the fierce rhetoric down on official town stationery complete with gold seal.
"Be it known from this day forward that Satan, ruler of darkness, giver of evil, destroyer of what is good and just, is not now, nor ever again will be, a part of this town of Inglis. Satan is hereby declared powerless, no longer ruling over, nor influencing, our citizens."
She made five copies. One was kept for her office wall, which is covered with pictures of Elvis, framed letters of thanks and a painting of the Last Supper.
The rest were rolled and stuffed into hollowed-out fence posts placed at the four entrances to the town. The posts, painted with the words Repent, Request and Resist, were sealed and capped.
"You're either with God or against him," Risher, 61, and a lifelong resident, said from her office on Wednesday. "I'm with him."
So are a lot of other people in the town of 1,400, most of whom Risher describes as good Christians. "I have a lot of respect for her because she did that," said Martha Eiland, who was shopping for sea shells at a gift shop on U.S. 19.
But the mayor's public act of faith has drawn criticism from some who say it oversteps the line between church and state.
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Mayor Risher, whose affable demeanor and solid roots in the community have kept her in office for the past decade, is unapologetic.
"If I had thought I was doing something wrong, I would have not done it," she said. "It just felt like it was something I could do for the community, mostly for our young people."
Risher said she got the idea after Pastor Richard Moore of Yankeetown Church of God announced plans to place the fence posts. Moore asked his congregation to skip one meal a day for a 40-day period that ends in mid December.
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The proclamation is not a reference to a single event, Risher explained, but an overall sense of concern. She speaks of drunken drivers, fathers who molest their daughters and people who steal from their neighbors.
Town Clerk Sally McCranie, who signed the proclamation, offered another observation: Kids in town, she said, have taken to dressing in all black and painting their faces white, a style known as
Goth.
"We are taking everything back that the devil ever stole from us," Risher wrote. "We will never again be deceived by satanic and demonic forces."
Despite being the talk of town, Risher said she has received only one complaint about the proclamation. A business owner called her to warn against possible legal action.
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(Editor's Note: The following is a proclamation issued by the town of Inglis and carrying the town seal and logo.)
Be it known from this day forward that Satan, ruler of darkness, giver of evil, destroyer of what is good and just, is not now, nor ever again will be, a part of this town of Inglis. Satan is hereby declared powerless, no longer ruling over, nor influencing, our citizens.
In the past, Satan has caused division, animosity, hate, confusion, ungodly acts on our youth, and discord among our friends and loved ones. NO LONGER!
The body of Jesus Christ, those citizens cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb, hereby join together to bind the forces of evil in the Holy Name of Jesus. We have taken our town back for the Kingdom of God. We are taking everything back that the devil ever stole from us. We will never again be deceived by satanic and demonic forces.
As blood-bought children of God, we exercise our authority over the devil in Jesus' name. By that authority, and through His Blessed Name, we command all satanic and demonic forces to cease their activities and depart the town of Inglis.
As the Mayor of Inglis, duly elected by the citizens of this town, and appointed by God to this position of leadership, I proclaim victory over Satan, freedom for our citizens, and liberty to worship our Creator and Heavenly Father, the God of Israel. I take this action in accordance with the words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as recorded in Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15-18.
Signed and sealed this 5th Day of November, 2001
Carolyn Risher, Mayor
Sally McCranie, Town Clerk
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