Karen,
And apparently these are public cemeteries, what does it say about private
ones? People should be aware of the ease with which they are distroyed in
Indiana. As one state goes, so go the others before anyone who cares is
made aware.
Edith
----- Original Message -----
From: Lois Mauk <loismauk(a)home.com>
To: <IN-CEMETERIES-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 05, 2001 3:53 PM
Subject: [IN-CEM] How easy is it to disinter a cemetery in Indiana? A lot
easier than you can imagine!
Dear Friends:
Many of Indiana's historic pioneer cemeteries stand "in the way of
progress"
as demand rises for land suitable for development.
Down here in Clark and Floyd Counties (near Louisville, KY), we have one
cemetery that was moved in February 2001 to make way for a department
store,
two more that have Circuit Court "Orders to Disinter" in
place (one since
February 2001 and the other since May 2001) for subdivision development,
one
that has been spared being dismantled thanks to the active
involvement of
the Township Trustee in putting a stop to that effort, and two more that
are
in serious jeopardy and which will likely be moved in the next
several
months. These six situations have come to light just since the first of
2001!
Obviously, this is a burgeoning trend, though we do not have verifiable
numbers for "portable cemeteries" elsewhere in the State.
It is surprisingly EASY to get a court order to disinter a pioneer
cemetery
in Indiana. The most recent Clark Co. Order to Disinter was granted
(1)
to
a funeral director who is NOT the owner of the cemetery OR the
surrounding
property; (2) on behalf of a subdivision developer who is NOT the owner of
the cemetery itself, it being a specific EXCEPTION on his Deed; (3)
without
notice to the public; (4) with full knowledge of the Township
Trustee; and
(5) only six days after the Petition to Disinter was filed. [The entire
court file consists of FIVE SHEETS OF PAPER!]
There are many shortcomings to the current statutes, which are addressed
in
a Petition being sponsored by the Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries
Restoration
Project (INPCRP).
The INPCRP asks you to help us call on the Indiana Legislature to overhaul
the statutes which currently permit the quick and easy dismantling and
relocation of our pioneer family cemeteries. The Petition document and a
cover letter are on-line in a single PDF document at:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inpcrp/Petition-Disinterment.PDF
You will need the FREE Adobe Acrobat READER on your system to open the PDF
link listed above. If you don't already have the Acrobat READER on your
computer, you can download it from:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
I've also linked to the Petition documents in PDF format from a new INPCRP
page on the subject of DISINTERMENT, which is linked to the main INPCRP
page:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inpcrp/disinterment.html
We have included two different Petition forms: One is a "long form" that
includes a good deal more text and room for only 5 signatures. The other
is
a "short form" with less text and room for ten signatures.
I suggest you
print out both and, if potential signers want to know more about the
situation, give them the "long form", maybe with the included page of
pertinent statute language.
If you or someone you know (young OR old) has a strong opinion on this
subject, ask him or her to write a short personal letter to Rep. Markt
Lytle
and, if you send it in with your signed Petitions, we will include
those
letters in the package we will be hand-delivering to Rep. Lytle on
10/6/2001. I'm sure he will pay particular attention to letters from
children and young people as a further demonstration of the wide range of
interest in protecting our pioneer cemeteries.
We are really excited about the possibility of collecting a TON of
signatures on this project. But we need your help to accomplish this
goal.
If anyone should ask, the names and addresses collected in this Petition
drive will not be released or provided to anyone other than Rep. Markt
Lytle, though I will be tabulating the number of Petition signatures
received from the various Indiana counties and from outside the State and
making that NUMERICAL information available on the INPCRP website.
Thank you for all your interest in and support of this endeavor.
Lois Mauk
State Coordinator
Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inpcrp
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