Joe Kovac Jr.: When cockroaches by the dozen started showing up at the front doors of the Fountain Temple AME Church on Sunday mornings, folks in the 35-member congregation weren’t sure what to think.
Their Pleasant Hill church dates to the middle 1800s. A decade ago it was condemned, its steeple caving in. But it was saved. They fixed the roof, put in new windows, purple carpet, purple-upholstered pews, a purple cross in the choir loft and brass chandeliers. The place was spotless, and they kept it that way.
Then last month, roaches — some skittering, some spiritless — began appearing around the welcome mat outside the sanctuary foyer. The bugs were also in the pink-bowed wreaths on the doors.
Parishioners figured maybe there was a roach nest somewhere. They’d sweep up the dead ones and turn foggers on the live ones. Then three or four days later, more roaches. It went on for weeks until the Rev. Mildred H. Denson’s husband had a hunch: Maybe someone was dumping the bugs there.
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