By Kerri Pepoy,Staff Writer

PARIS – Local police are urging people to ignore a fringe church group that plans to demonstrate Saturday prior to the funeral service for Corey Dan, a Norway soldier killed last week in Iraq.

The presence of the Westboro Baptist Church members has sparked community outrage, and police are clearly concerned about maintaining peace and order during the day’s events. It is estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 people will be present Saturday.

“Let the church group do what they want to do; do not get into any verbal confrontation with them,” Paris Police Chief David Verrier said Thursday. “That is exactly what they want.

“I think it’s best we ignore them.”

About 10 members of the church from Topeka, Kan., are expected to hold anti-gay signs and sing “God Hates America” for 45 minutes before the service begins at 1 p.m. at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School.

Verrier said the group will be told to demonstrate on the grassy area between the sidewalk and the high school’s fence along Route 26. They are prohibited from school grounds.

Police officers from Paris, Oxford and Norway, as well as state troopers and officers from the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office, will be on duty. “We have this all planned out; I have plenty of police officers,” he said. “They will be in locations to keep everybody safe.”

Law enforcement has strategized a response if violence does erupt. “I think we’ve covered just about every base we could think of,” Verrier said.

Dan, a 22-year-old sergeant with the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, died on March 13. Gov. John Baldacci ordered all U.S. and Maine flags to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Saturday.

Since last June, members of the church group have protested around the country at funerals for American soldiers to spread their message that God is killing them to retaliate for the United States’ tolerance of homosexuality.

Shirley Phelps-Roper, the group’s spokeswoman and daughter of the church’s leader, Rev. Fred Phelps, said she will demonstrate tomorrow. She has declined to say whether her father will be there.

Verrier said the school’s gymnasium can seat 1,600. “Once that’s filled, the complex is going to be shut down,” he said.

The presence of the fringe group has outraged many and spawned efforts to draw attention away from their message. Members of the Patriot Guard Riders, a national motorcycle riders’ organization, will ride motorcycles to the funeral as well as the burial site with American flags flying on the back of their bikes.

The organization was invited to the funeral by Dan’s family. People are also being asked to wear red shirts by Norway resident Rochelle Rawding, who said the color symbolizes Dan’s sacrifice.

Additionally, representatives for a group calling themselves “Hands of Love” said Thursday they plan a “peaceful counter rally” by standing near the Phelps group, holding signs bearing the word “Hate” with a slash through it.

The group was formed in response to the Phelps protesters, said Rijah Newell, an Oxford woman who coordinated the effort with a friend, Laura Wright, also of Oxford.

She said the group has about 20 people but more are expected as the women distribute fliers and e-mails.

“Our intention is to block (the Phelps group) out,” she said. “There will be no interaction. We don’t want anyone who can’t control their anger.”

But Verrier said Hands of Love will be directed to a “safe area” where there is no risk of confrontation with the Phelps group.

He said well-intentioned community members could wind up in trouble if they are goaded into a confrontation with the Phelps people. “They could be subject to civil liabilities or arrested themselves; people need to remember that,” he said. “Those are the things we are trying to avoid.”