Evansville's Grave Injustice

I will never forget the day I visited Oak Hill Cemetery. As I crossed through the famed entrance gates to the facility, I was there for one reason only- to pay tribute to the mayor whose goals, visions, and ideas I seek to replicate with my own career. Before I arrived at Hank's burial marker, I was already engulfed with feelings of sadness, anger, guilt, devastation, and depression due to the fact that I didn't have a victory for Roberts Stadium in tow with me to deliver to Mayor Roberts. Yes, I did finally make it to Hank's headstone...

But what I would see on my way through the cemetery was nothing short of despicable. It was like nothing I have ever seen before, it was a Grave Injustice.

No matter what part of Oak Hill Cemetery you visit, you will surely pass through many plots that are reminiscent of ruins from an old civilization. You will see headstones crushed, leaning, tilting, laying upside down, sitting on top of tree branches, and completely out of line from the rows they were originally intended to be in. Even worse is the fact that this isn't just one, two, or three grave sites that have these problems. Rather, we are talking about hundreds, maybe even thousands, of grave markers that are in disrepair.

After viewing the dilapidated condition at Oak Hill Cemetery, I then took a trip to Evansville's other public cemetery- Locust Hill Cemetery. As I expected, Locust Hill was a carbon copy of Oak Hill. Truth be told, the only areas in these cemeteries that are in acceptable condition are the areas being taken care of by our local veterans organizations. The rest of the areas in both of these cemeteries should be acceptable to no one.

As someone who has a great amount of respect for the veterans, the icons, and the residents of Evansville's great past, I refuse to allow these cemeteries to remain like this, and I would hope the city of Evansville would refuse to allow this condition to get any worse than what it currently is. What kind of message does our cemeteries convey to our guests, visitors, and outsiders about the way Evansville views its deceased?

In order to get these cemeteries turned around, I have made the decision to do everything in my power to get the word out about the condition of our public cemeteries. First of all, I have created the blog- http://agraveinjustice.blogspot.com/ - so that residents can view pictures of what the cemeteries look like as well as receive updates on them 24/7 from the comfort of their own home. Secondly, I will be asking local lawmakers for their support in making sure these problems don't continue to be left unattended. Lastly, I will be asking local residents to voice their concerns about these two cemeteries. I ask that any and all residents who are embarrassed by these horrendous conditions will write into our local media as well as our local leaders.

Yes, we have a tall task ahead of us in making sure that all of the deceased have a proper headstone surrounded by a lot that is maintained. But we can, and we will, accomplish this goal if our city is willing to take pride in both its past and present cemetery grave sites.