City Officials Call Special Session To Discuss Controversial Statue

The Overland Park City Council called an extra meeting for Wednesday night. On the agenda: an executive session to discuss legal issues around controversial statuary at the city’s Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

A statue, called “Accept or Reject” by artist Yu Chang, shows a headless woman with exposed breasts, taking a photo of herself. In May, Stilwell, Kansas resident, Joanne Hughes, viewed the work as promoting "sexting" and started a petition to ask city officials to remove it; she teamed up with the American Family Association, and they submitted 4700 signatures on a petition to the county clerk last week.

Election Commissioner Brian Newby confirmed today that enough signatures were verified on the petition, which called for a grand jury investigation. Johnson County now has 60 days to appoint a jury to decide if the city is promoting obscenity to minors.