Store owners appeal Ketchikan's 'Fiddler' monument decision

KETCHIKAN - The owners of a Ketchikan store hope a Superior Court judge will let them keep a wooden "Fiddler on the Roof" sculpture atop their business.

An appeal filed by Joseph and Helena Machini states the Ketchikan Gateway Borough made a mistake when deciding that artwork should be included when determining if a building exceeds height restrictions. The appeal says the ruling violated the Machinis' freedom of expression, equal protection and due-process rights.

Code enforcers earlier this year ordered the Machinis to remove the bearded fiddler after finding that the wooden figure extends the height of the building beyond a 32-foot limit.

The case has been assigned to Superior Court Judge William B. Carey.