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U.S. Supreme Court Doesn't Hear Oneida Co. Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a petition from a family hoping to build a Bible camp and conference center on Squash Lake west of Rhinelander. But that likely is not the end of the legal pursuit.

The Jaros family began the effort in 2004 to get needed permits from Oneida county and approval from the town of Woodboro. They want to build a large facility on family-owned acreage.

After a series of rejections at the local level, they took the case to federal court. The family argued the local governments were prohibiting them from exercising their religious beliefs, violating a federal law, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. In February, a U.S. judge in Madison sided with the county and town. The Jaros' appealed to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. That court backed the earlier opinion. The Jaros family then appealed to the nation's highest court for consideration. The rejection to accept the case by the highest court ends the case at the federal level. But last fall, the family started a parallel action in Oneida County Circuit court, as they had not used their state-level court appeals pending the federal action.

The case appealing the Board of Adjustment rejection from years ago is pending in Oneida County Circuit Court.

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