As owner of this list, I felt it was appropriate to post here. The problems
we have with our cemeteries should be heard by all.
Sheila D. Watson
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Hello. My name is Lois Mauk <LoisMauk(a)usa.net>. I am the State Coordinator
of the Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project (the "INPCRP"). You
can visit our website at:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inpcrp
The INPCRP is a network of people concerned and worried about the condition
of thousands of abandoned, neglected, desecrated and/or obliterated pioneer
cemeteries in the Hoosier State.
We have been working diligently for almost two years to draw attention to
the plight of these neglected sites and, at least partly as a result of our
efforts, the Indiana General Assembly is presently considering at least a
half-dozen bills to address the crisis. (The bills of which we are
presently aware are summarized on the above website.)
To date we have collected more than FIVE HUNDRED signatures (including a
couple of dozen from outside the state) on petitions urging the General
Assembly to address the fact that Indiana law does little or nothing to
protect pioneer family cemeteries -- especially the ones on private property
-- and, in fact, grants carte blanche authority for the DESTRUCTION of
pioneer cemeteries to those involved in agriculture or strip mining.
(We are still collecting petition signatures, if any of you are interested
in participating. The form is available on the INPCRP website.)
One of the other things we are trying to do is to establish a "HALL OF
SHAME" listing one or more abandoned, neglected cemeteries in each of
Indiana's 92 counties. The list presently consists of some SIXTY such
sites. We know full well there are many, many more and would like to
include at least one nomination from each of Indiana's 92 counties so we can
present this list to the General Assembly if we are permitted to appear
there in a couple of weeks to testify on these pending bills.
At the moment, we have numerous counties for which no sites have been
nominated to the "Hall of Shame".
We would like to ask the members of your group to let us know the:
Name,
County
Township and
Condition
of any abandoned, neglected or abused cemetery sites of which they are
personally aware in Indiana. Scanned pictures can also be submitted in JPG
or GIF images and forwarded to:
LoisMauk(a)usa.net
BTW, the INPCRP has an e-mail discussion group on Rootsweb. Anyone who
would like to get involved can join by sending a one-word message consisting
of SUBSCRIBE to INPCRP-L-REQUEST(a)rootsweb.com.
Most of your questions can be answered by reviewing the INPCRP website. If,
however, you have other questions, please feel free to ask.
Thank you for your time. And thank you for caring about Indiana's
endangered pioneer family cemeteries.
Lois Mauk
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Have you signed an Indiana Pioneer Cemetery Restoration Project
PETITION TO THE INDIANA LEGISLATURE calling for revision of current
state laws regarding protection and maintenance of pioneer cemeteries?
See
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inpcrp
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