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It's been a few months, and a few a weeks, since we took a look at the conditions at our two public cemeteries- Oak Hill & Locust Hill Cemeteries.
Back on July 16th, Evansville got a first glimpse of the deplorable conditions at our two city cemeteries...
http://city-countyobserver.com/2012/07/16/evansvilles-grave-injustice-by-jordan-baer/
Since that time, the wheels have been put in motion to get these cemeteries heading the right direction. First of all, I would like to thank Evansville City Council Members Connie Robinson, John Friend, and Al Lindsey for taking the time to visit these cemeteries and then fighting for funding for them. We certainly wouldn't be seeing progress without their leadership. I now urge the City Council to move forward with the $70,000 in funding to repair these cemeteries so that workers may get a jump on renovations before the ground freezes for the winter.
Next, I would like to thank Chris Cooke, Superintendent of Cemeteries, and Todd Robertson, Executive Director of Transportation & Services, for their work on these two cemeteries. Obviously, they are not going to be able to make huge strides on repairing these cemeteries until they receive the proper funding from the City Council. But in the meantime, there has been a gradual display of progress at both the cemeteries.
What are some of the changes that have been made at Oak Hill and Locust Hill?
One of the most notable small improvements made to the cemeteries has been the repainting of the edges of the roads that run through the plots of land...
One of the most important changes that I have noticed is that some headstones that had either collapsed or tipped over have been lifted back up...
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Also, some of the rows of headstones are now aligned in a straight row...
Although I am extremely satisfied with the progress that is being made, I do want to reiterate that we still have a long way to go. We still have headstones that need to be fixed...
While others need to be aligned in straight rows...
By far and away, the best part about the progress being made at the cemeteries is that there is now flowers from family members being put on some of the graves that were being neglected...
Moving forward, my only complaint is this- I do not feel like it was a good decision for the city to advertise these two cemeteries in the Courier & Press. When the conditions at these two cemeteries was revealed, both news stations as well as the City-County Observer reached out to me to see what they could do to help get the problems corrected. The Courier & Press failed to acknowledge these conditions and thus it makes no sense for them to be rewarded for their legendary protection of yet another city administration.
Also, if there were any funds spent on these advertisements, they should have been set aside for cemetery maintenance and repair instead of a C&P advertisement. Over the next few years, it is going to be extremely difficult obtaining funds to keep these cemeteries in good standing as well as repairing the damage that has been done over the past century. Any funds given to these cemeteries by either the city or a private entity needs to be spent wisely.
Overall, I now feel very confident in the future of both Oak Hill & Locust Hill Cemeteries. I am very pleased with the progress we have made in such short time. I also look forward to the next round of improvements and repair.
As more updates become available, I will report them. I am also willing to pass along any news regarding these two cemeteries from city officials that they send me.
Thank you everyone for your support for these two cemeteries and let's keep the momentum going!
