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Well, I went straight to the horse's (or ass's) mouth and checked out the story in the Strausberg Scout which also serves as the local paper for the community of Bennett. Some snips:
It created a kind of firestorm," says George Sauter, the Bennett school district supervisor. "We have people on both sides of the fence. Some are saying it's trying to promote the devil. Other people are defending the arts to the hilt."
Waggoner is disappointed and concerned that the parents did not address her personally so that she could move in a more appropriate or parentally-approved direction.
“I want to interact with the parents and do what is most beneficial for them and the students,” she said. “I was just trying to bring another aspect of culture to the school and that’s all.”
Waggoner added that most parents asking for her job were upset with her for not allowing carols to be sung during Bennett Elementary’s Christmas concert.
“I was not given any protocol as to what the content of the concert has included in the past or what it should be,” Waggoner said. “In today’s politically-correct environment, Christmas carols are considered to be risky because they could offend people that aren’t Christians or don’t observe the holiday.”
Waggoner, a former opera singer hired to teach choral music, has been put on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. Sauter will report his findings at the school board's Feb. 16 meeting. The board could reinstate or dismiss her.
Bennett, a bedroom community about 30 miles east of Denver, has a population of roughly 2,000.
And from the Denver Post:
The debate over the devil has turned Bennett into the latest skirmish in an ongoing cultural war that has included former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's attack on elephant-dung paintings and battles in Vermont and Kansas over "intelligent design."
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