Should the Fayette County Commission

support one of the charitable organizations in the county?

That's the question the County

Commission will mull over in the next two weeks after Commissioner Linda

Wells suggested donating $25,000 to the Fayette Samaritans.

The plight of the Samaritans

has been well-documented in the Citizen. The Samaritans is a nondenominational

group that helps Fayette Countians get on their feet if they run into

an emergency situation. The group is now looking for a permanent home

in the middle of the county.

"They're a unique organization.

They spend virtually every penny of every donation they get on helping

people," Wells said.

She said the group had received

more than $129,000 in donations in 2001, but only spent $385 in administrative

expenses.

Wells added the board already

contributed to Fayette Senior Services and the Youth Home and felt it

would be a worthwhile contribution because of the "social implications."

But Commissioner Peter Pfeiffer

was not so sure about the idea.

"I'm uncomfortable with

giving them cash. There may be an incorrect interpretation of their bylaws,"

he said.

Pfeiffer added the group might

be able to use some of their donations to pay for rental office space.

Commissioner Herb Frady suggested

the county had a building in Brooks that might be suitable for the group,

but county administrator Chris Cofty said the building was being used

for storage.

One of the more interesting

points came from Commission Chairman Greg Dunn, who wondered if giving

the group money would violate the separation of church and state, since

all the board members of the Samaritans are from local churches.

"I'm not concerned a whole

lot about church and state. I think we're drawing a line and getting too

politically correct. We're going to have to spend this much later to help

these people if they get in the social system," said Commissioner

A.G. VanLandingham.

Dunn said the group does a

wonderful job and he would love to help them, but he wasn't sure if government

was the proper vehicle to fund the organization.

The board wanted more time

to examine the issue and said they would discuss it further at the Sept.

26 meeting.

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