Articale in newpaper
Crawfordsville Journal, October 1, 1990
YOUR VIEW
Letter to the editor
Cemetery upkeep should be priority
To the Editor:
Over the past year a lot of ink has been used to make a public aware of
the duties of the township trustee, along with detailed analyses of the cost
of township government.
Until the legislature and the governor enact new law, the trustees still
have the duties to fulfill: public safety, emergency assistance (poor
relief), cultural and recreational services, and cemetery care.
I'm hearing that some trustees are neglecting the last one.
A member of the Genealogy Club of Montgomery County, which did a
magnificent job of restoring the O'Neall Cemetery near Yountsville, free of
charge, said the club had gotten refusals to restore pioneer cemeteries from
certain trustees.
The refusals were based on the claims that the trustees "had no money."
I remember an instance where a trustee told an applicant he "had no
money" for poor relief. The applicant knew the law, and the County
Commissioners told the trustee to find some.
Upon examining the "Had-No-Money" township annual report for the year
ended 12/31/08, I found that the trustee attested to an ending cash balance
of $27, 932.97 in the township general fund - the one providing cemetery
care. To Bill Gates, $27,000 is like having no money, but to a rural
Indiana trustee it is a bunch.
The same trustee, it was reported, had no money to repair a cemetery
fence to keep out the neighbor's cattle, the Indiana law is clear on this
one. Where livestock is involved, adjacent landowners are obligated to
maintain their halves of the fences - and there's a well-known formula for
determining who owns which half of the fence. It does not matter if only
one landowner has livestock.
Aside from the law governing trustee duties, it would seem that an
elected official would have enough pride in his or her community to want to
make it as appealing as possible. A derelict cemetery is a visible signal
of the living speaking to their respect for those who built that community.
There are those who know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.
Jim Spence
Township Trustee
Ripley Township
On Sat, Oct 17, 2009 at 1:07 AM, JOHN WALTERS <graveyardgroomer(a)gmail.com>wrote:
You might try water and a good nylon scrub brush.
Also, you might contact Ted Kinnari. 410-782-0832
e-mail tkinnari(a)mac.com
He is a Building Conservator. I think he is associated with Cathedral Stone
products. I do not know if he is a salesman. Cathedral Stone has products
to
remove paint from stone. I think some of the other companies that sell
products for stone restoration has paint stripper, also. You might check
out
Gran Quartz, Miles Supply, Bicknell....
Micki
This list is for sharing pioneer cemetery questions, ideas and restoration
projects.
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