Susan:
You say you want to be able to talk to the press without scaring the farmers
into throwing stones over the sides of hills. When you talk to the media,
tell them there's more to the story. There's a good number things you want
to be sure and mention to them:
Public Law 100 (was HB 1522) makes three small (but nonetheless important)
changes to the Indiana statutes:
(1) Makes it specifically illegal to damage, deface or destroy any cemetery
monument, marker, artifact, ornamentation, etc.
(2) Makes it specifically illegal to traffic in stolen cemetery art or
artifacts.
(3) Takes away farmers' exemptions that allowed them to legally destroy all
visible signs of a cemetery (bulldoze the stones, haul them away, run
livestock in the cemetery, build a barn on top of a cemetery, etc.)
While these are important steps, there is a LOT more that needs to be done.
Unfortunately, it doesn't change a THING about the legal process which made
it possible to desecrate Rhoads Cemetery in Indianapolis, Wilhoit Cemetery
in Dubois County or Hale-McBride Cemetery here in Clark County.
Also, Public Law 100 does not address the critical and urgent fact that the
many of Indiana's pioneer cemeteries are abandoned, neglected or abused or
have vanished altogether (refer them to our INPCRP "Hall of Shame").
Suggest to the reporter that he/she talk with Rep. Markt Lytle of Madison,
IN (812-265-4021) about the impact of the Bill and the Legislature's future
plans for addressing the plight of Indiana's pioneer cemeteries.
You might want to refer the press to the INPCRP "wish list" which we started
compiling several months ago in anticipation of the General Assembly Summer
Study program (expected to happen in July and/or August) where members of
the Senate and the House will visit various cities in the state to talk
face-to-face with the public about their concerns in the area of cemetery
preservation and protection. (See the "Needed Legislation" page on the
INPCRP.)
One of my major concerns is making it more difficult for land developers to
exhume remains, deliver them to an archeology laboratory and not have to
reinter them.
Perhaps we can talk about incentives to encourage developers to come up with
creative ways to incorporate small cemeteries into their planning of a
project which would prevent the site from being excavated and hopefully
ensure that they will be cared for along with the rest of the landscape of
the project. It can be done. Take a look at the "Unique Cemetery
Preservation Techniques" page on the INPCRP website and see a cemetery in
the middle of a shopping center parking lot in DeKalb County,
Georgia, near Atlanta.
Perhaps they can be offered a tax credit on the cemetery itself it is
preserved during construction and adequately maintained. Then, if taxes are
not assessed and paid on the site, the Township Trustee could have some
authority to take care of it if it is not properly maintained. The logical
process would probably be to transfer the cemetery itself to the Trustee but
offer the property owner some sort of tax incentive to take care of it
themselves, thus not burdening the Trustee's budget.
This procedure would have to have some sort of enforcement power such as a
penalty if it isn't cared for and the Trustees could ensure that it is
maintained by the property owner.
The "agricultural purposes" angle is only a piece of this story. You need
to emphasize to the press that there's more to it.
Lois
- -------------------------------
Clark County Cemetery Preservation Committee meeting, Saturday, July 3, in
Hibernia (Owen Twp.):
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/5881
Please visit the Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project at:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inpcrp
-----Original Message-----
From: SUSAN HUBER <shuber2(a)indy.tds.net>
To: INPCRP-L(a)rootsweb.com <INPCRP-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Date: Monday, June 28, 1999 6:00 PM
Subject: [INPCRP-L] Putnam County Publicity
Hello to all! We are finally going to get some publicity here in
Putnam
County. I had called the local paper several months ago when 1522 was in
the House and got no response at all. Now all the sudden they call and want
to know everything. Here is my chance! Does anyone have good sugestions to
get the ball rolling here without scaring the farmers into throwing stones
over the side of the hills?
Thanks,
Susan Huber