Depending on perception, litigation against the county for posting Ten Commandment plaques in government buildings is either heating up, or cooling down. On one hand the county won the first battle in a lawsuit filed by Zen Buddhist Lance Teague of Moravian Falls when his motion to have the plaques removed was denied in Wilkes Su-perior Court last week. On the other hand, Teague says he will pull out of the legal action if the proposed historic displays, designed to replace the commandments, don't offend him. One thing, however, is becoming clearer as the days pass and the legal-expense meter ticks -- the commissioners apparently erred. Though they may have gained popularity among some constituents, it seems it became clear to them that they were standing on shaky legal grounds by putting up the plaques (see the U.S. Constitution).

   For the county to have to replace the plaques to possibly thwart the American Civil Liberties Union sponsored lawsuit is basically an admission of error. Click, click, click the legal meter goes. County Manager Gary Page estimates County Attorney Tony Triplett's time on the case to have mounted to 50 to 75 hours as of Tuesday morning. At $100 per hour that's $5,000 to $7,500. And it's not over yet. Click, click, click. Triplett is in the midst of designing the historic displays. They will likely go up by June 20 when the case is due to go to court. It's unclear what the displays will cost, but by the sounds of it, they won't be cheap. Click, click, click. The cost of sanctimony is high. Elected officials should have learned that by now. They learned in Haywood County to the tune of $200,000 and Cobb County, Ga. to the tune of $100,000. Compared to these counties, Wilkes is getting out easy. Still, $5,000 could buy a bunch of schoolbooks, many tanks of gas for deputies' patrol cars or perk up programs for senior citizens. It's simply money that should not have been spent.