First, I am very pleased to welcome Kyle Conrad <KidClerk(a)aol.com> to our
group. I've been in contact with Kyle for many months and had been hoping
we could draw him into because I value his opinion and his multi-faceted
perspective.
I appreciate Kyle enlightening us on what will probably happen next. I
suspect the "conference committee" is a real possibility where they will
hash out what is to become of these proposed Bills.
That's why it's so important that we stay in regular contact with our
Legislators. When you write them, if you have any, enclose pictures of
abandoned and neglected cemeteries in your District. Visual representations
are very important in getting the point across, especially to the
Legislators who are constantly bombarded with slick, expensive promotional
materials for all manner of causes.
I believe there is a high level of interest in this subject and a
considerable amount of attention is being paid to the matter in the
Legislature. While I do not expect ALL of our pioneer cemeteries' problems
to be solved in this session, I believe they've made a terrific first step.
We've got a lot of momentum on our side and we've got to keep the interest
level high.
Talk about the situation to your friends and neighbors. Urge them to pick
up a telephone or a pen and write to their Legislators to express their
opinions on the subject. This is how the public makes known its stand on
any issue. Our problem is that the vast majority of the general public does
not realize the seriousness of this crisis.
If you walk up to ten people on the street, probably 9 of them will swear up
and down that ALL cemeteries are protected by all manner of federal, state
and local laws. The simple truth is they aren't.
If you haven't already done so, write a letter to the Editor of your local
newspaper. If you like, refer to the INPCRP website at
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inpcrp (be sure to tell them the tilde {~} is
critical and the URL is case-sensitive). Write about what YOU know about
this crisis. Urge the readers to contact their Legislators to express their
opinions on the subject.
Contact your County Commissioners, Township Trustees, etc. and urge them to
support the pending legislation. We can ALL come out winners in this if we
figure out how to work together.
Thank you.
Lois