This news release is being sent to all the persons with cemetery
interests...We would appreciate your support via email, stop by the LaPorte
County complex this Friday 1-4 to get details, or appear at the
commissioners meeting next tues at 6 to show your support.
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Cemetery friends and Families
LaPorte Co Pioneer Cemetery Commission would like to announcement that we
are collecting signatures for our LaPorte Co
Commissioners to adopt a county ordinance on Cemetery restitution.
We have a petition on going. You can sign up at the courthouse this Friday
1-4pm in the County Complex meeting room #3. We will present our petition
at the Co commissioners meeting on Tuesday Feb 19th at 6 if anyone wants to
join us there.
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PETITION
We, the undersigned, petition the La Porte County Commissioners to pass the
following proposed ordinance for the protection of all the cemeteries of La
Porte county from acts of vandalism and the prosecution of the violators
thereof.
The proposed, Cemetery vandalism and the prosecution of the violators
ordinance, will include: Dusk to Dawn curfew with signage, vandalism will be
defined as any disturbance of a graveyard including the damage, defacing or
theft of grave stones, monuments, mausoleums, fences, signage, urns,
markers, flags, the destruction of the cemetery grounds and other acts of
vandalism. The proposed county ordinance will make violators responsible for
restitution and in the case of a violator that is underage, the parents, and
or guardian will make restitution. The violators will be prosecuted
according to the state laws citing cemetery mischief as a Class A
misdemeanor and any loss determined by the cemetery to be at least $2500.00
as a Class D felony.
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the petition signing ends Friday, Feb 15th
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We had community service persons helping clean up the cemeteries through the
probation department during this past year. This has been a great program,
they pay back to the community. We want the county residents to know we
wont stand for this kind of vandalism. We want to help in anyway possible to
make these persons responsible for desecration of our county burial grounds.
Some of our 80+ cemeteries in the county began as family burial grounds
before 1832 when the county was formed. We must help preserve these final
resting places of our families, Native Americans and of the veterans of all
wars.
We know the ordinance isnt the answer but it is a start to get the awareness
of cemetery destruction in the public eye.
One cemetery has been hit 10 times this past year.
HOLLY JENKS, President
LAPORTE CO PIONEER CEMETERY COMMISSION
visit our web page designed by Deanna West of Michigan City
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inlpccem/cems.htm