Jack,
This is great news!! YOU can get a cemetery commission started. Just keep
doing what you are doing and get the word out to the public. Then go to
county commissioners with a PLAN on how it can be done. Don't ask for money
from the county at first. They will balk. Start out by working with
volunteers, applying for grants and asking for donations. The county will
have a hard time saying no to something that requires no money from them and
gets the cemeteries restored in the meantime. When you get a couple of
cemeteries looking respectful again and the public starts to become more
interested (hopefully), then maybe you could ask the county for a small
amount of money. Try to get a reporter from the local newspaper involved in
covering the story. Does a reporter sit in on all your county's commissioner
meetings? If so, give them a call and give a heads up on what you are trying
to accomplish and why. Take the reporter to the worst cemeteries in the
county. They might want to do a front page article on pioneer cemeteries.
You never know until you try.
Good luck! You can do it. I have faith in you.
Angela
----- Original Message -----
From: <Jackbriles(a)aol.com>
To: <INPCRP-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 12:56 PM
Subject: [INPCRP] New Trustee, Interested in Restoring Cemeteries
To the List,
An update, hope I make sense, I have some good news (For me anyhow )
Sunday night I received a phone call from a newly elected Twp. Trustee
from
Georgetown, Twp, Floyd Co. His name is David Riley. He takes office
Jan
2,
2003. He wanted to Inform me that he had near the top of his list,
Cemeteries. He is short on money for 2003 because the outgoing Trustee
knew
he was going to loose and never asked for a cent more than he had
gotten
for
the last 8 years. He only has $600 to work with. he needs 1n the next
4
years
10 times that to make a dent. But he is going to find a way to fence
a
small
cemetery only 4 feet from a county Rd. He has an Eagle Scout and
others,
plus
some friends of the Scouts who are willing to help clean up a little
this
year until he can get his funds raised. He wants to start with this very
visible one to help get others interested in the plight of the cemeteries
in
general that have been neglected. Believe me, this was a total
surprise,
and
he has a wonderful attitude.
He attended a Trustees meeting in Indianapolis and saw and
heard
what needed to be done and came back with a positive attitude. I
think he
talked to John, or whoever was there, including Jeannie Regan-Dinnus. He
had
read the articles in the papers about what I was doing for the
cemeteries
in
Floyd Co. and decided I was the one to contact. I assured him that
since I
had not had any help, or real interest from anyone but Tom Cannon, the New
Albany Twp. Trustee. I welcomed him. When he called, I almost fell out of
my
chair. I told him that what needs to be done will take time. First
get
more
money, to start with, and pick what can be done with what he gets.
That
will
be a great start. Things are looking much brighter than they did up
until
Sunday. We have only 5 Twps. in Floyd Co. David's brother is the Trustee
of
Franklin Twp. Now, maybe with Tom Cannon, David Riley and his brother
Richard
Riley, that is 3 out of 5 that should help me try for a Cemetery
Commission.
They then could pool some money and clean and restore the
worst ones first. He apparently had a brief lesson on repairs, and also
liked
what Jeannie talked about. He wants to get ready for spring. To have
a new
Trustee fired up enough to call me to guide him sure made my day. I know
this
is old stuff to most of you, but I have worked since September of
1999 by
my
self, with some assistance from my wife. I feel better now than I
have
since
I started. One more thing, I wonder if some of you that have
cemetery
commissions could E-mail me a copy of the Ordinances that you were able to
get passed. I would like to have at least two or three. I haven't
had time
to
even think about this before with very little chance of passage.
Sorry
about
the length, but I am very upbeat finally. I have been very lonesome
for a
couple of years. Thanks, Sincerely
jackbriles(a)aol.com
PO Box 444
New Albany, In 47151-0444
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If we cannot respect the dead, how can we respect the living?