Thank You Angela,Donna,Bud,& Walt for inviting the
State Legislators to the Henry Co. Cemetery Commision
Meeting & presenting such important issues. Is it
possible to get a copy the outline you presented, so
the rest of us could send it to our State
Representatives?
Theresa Berghoff
--- GTielking <tielking(a)knightstown.net> wrote:
Hello everyone,
We wanted to let you know how the meeting at the
Henry County, Indiana Cemetery Commission went
tonight.
Representative Tom Saunders and Senator Beverly Gard
were the guests. Representative Phil Pflum was
unable to make it. The meeting was about an hour and
a half long.
There was a good turnout at the meeting. There were
four INPCRP group members in attendence: Donna
Tauber (president of the Henry Co. Cemetery
Commission), Bud Bush (UEB), John Walters, and me.
Mike Hayes, Vice-President of the Indiana Township
Trustee Association was also present.
Topics discussed were landlocked cemeteries,
cemeteries on private property, designating October
as Cemetery Education Month, cemeteries in praire
grass restoration areas, controlled burning in
cemeteries, and funding for cemetery commissions. We
were unable to talk about every issue, but I think
we covered a lot. Issues not discussed were written
in an outline for them to keep. Those topics were
changing the word "may" to "shall" in forming a
county cemetery commission, reviewing the 1850 date
in IC 23-14-67-1, and wording IC 23-14-67-1 to read
"or" instead of "and" in meeting qualifications for
"Care of cemeteries by County".
Senator Gard and Rep. Saunders said that Indiana is
strong in protecting the rights of property owners.
They do not think anything could be done with that.
I showed them pictures of the Farley Cemetery in
Franklin Twp., that is on private property and the
farmer is plowing around it and encroaching on the
cemetery, as an example. A Rev. War veteran is
buried there. Rep. Saunders recognized something
needs to be done to further protect our cemeteries
so they will not end up like the Farley Cemetery or
others that have been plowed over. And we need to
concentrate on what cemeteries are left so they will
not be destroyed or lost. (A conservaton officer did
visit the Farley Cemetery after I complained about
it. He told me nothing could be done because there
were no bones exposed; and that someone from the DNR
was to call the property owner so he is aware of the
current laws in regards to disturbing a cemetery.)
Rep. Saunders said that designating October as
Cemetery Education Month may be a possibility
because Gov. Frank O'Bannon is interested in
history.
It was suggested to the legislators that a committee
should be formed to work on the cemetery issues.
Walt, Bud, and Donna: Would any of you want to add
to what has been shared? I know I left out some
things. We talked about so many issues.
Thanks to everyone who gave me permission to include
their e-mails in the portfolio. :-)
Angela Tielking
==== INPCRP Mailing List ====
Quote from William Gladstone (1809-1897), three-time
Prime Minister of England
and Victorian contemporary of Benjamin Disraeli:
"Show me the manner in which a nation or
community
cares for its dead and I will measure with
mathematical
exactness the tender mercies of its people,
their
respect for the laws of the land, and their
loyalty
to high ideals."
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