Breanna Molloy
5:00 AM, Sep 20, 2018
12:11 AM, Sep 21, 2018
Excerpts from the article:
"But the Ohio Department of Commerce, which recommends guidelines for the maintenance of a cemetery, has no legal authority to do more than that, said Kelly Stincer, the department's public information officer.
Cemetery owners are responsible for keeping records of where people are buried and for the maintenance and care of that cemetery, Stincer said. That maintenance includes the grounds around graves and repairing roads.
So what happened at Beech Grove Cemetery? And whose job is it to fix the problem?
"I see sunken markers, sunken stones, stones that are leaning forward … I’ve been to a lot of cemeteries, and I’ve never seen one in this condition,” Holcomb said.
Township officials weren’t able to take possession of the cemetery until 2017, when previous owners Bethel Church abandoned the property.
Springfield Township trustee Gwen McFarlin said by that time she had already heard numerous complaints from people with loved ones buried there, though Stincer said the state hasn't received any complaints about this cemetery since 2001.
Local officials turned to the only enforcement available in the absence of ownership: They declared Beech Grove Cemetery a nuisance at every meeting.
“It was a vicious sort of cycle that we were going through, but it was the only legal process we had available to us so that we could even cut the grass,” McFarlin said.
The oversight of Beech Grove, along with 4,166 cemeteries across Ohio, is the responsibility of the Department of Commerce. But Stincer said that the state has "absolutely no authority to enforce even the minimum recommendations for maintenance."
But Springfield Township Administrator Chris Gilbert said he wishes the state would take a larger role in enforcement.
“Unfortunately the State Department of Commerce is not immune to the same issues that local governments are,” Gilbert said. “Resources are scarce, the ability to enforce policies, laws and regulations are difficult when you don’t have the manpower or resources to do so.”
Stincer said that two full-time staffers handle the day-to-day administration of the program in order to "serve consumers and assist the cemetery community" in complying with Ohio law.
"This includes registrations, renewals, audits and consumer complaints," Stincer said in an emailed statement.
"Complaints often involve maintenance of cemeteries; from mowing and trimming to roadways and drainage," the statement continued. "The dispute resolution process is a valuable resource for Ohio cemetery operators to receive advice from the commission regarding standard industry practices and procedures. In addition, the commission adopts and publishes suggested maintenance guidelines for all cemeteries registered in the state of Ohio."
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Below are scanned images of the pages
in the PDF document for filing a complaint to
the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission
about problematic issues relating to
a REGISTERED Cemetery in Ohio
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Veteran Burials Names, location of their graves,
and the number in the circle denotes the
war in which the veteran served.
The "World War" is for WWI
Full-size map below
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Below is my arrangement
for a representative Title Page
for the WPA Cemetery Plat Map
(which are companion records to the individual Veterans' Graves Registration cards)
AND
The Legend for all of the wars through
World War I."
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All Townships in Ohio should be
aware of their option
to put to the voters
a Continuing Levy that INCLUDES
cemeteries with Fire, Police, and Ambulance.
This option was passed with HB 64
within the state budget, see below:
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Link below to full document for the Ohio Department of Real Estate
and Professional Licensing and Compliance with the law:
