Pioneer Cemetery Ceremony

Vivian Moon wrote: Viscount Valmont It is the families of those buried at the Middletown Cemetery that have called and complained about the condition year after year and the nothing was ever corrected. Viscount, it is not up to the family members to solve the problems of the cemetery it is the City since the law clearly states that it is their responsibility and what needs to be done at the cemetery. At the last meeting I attended I stated that tombstones had been removed from the graves and needed to be replaced.  You didn’t seem to think this was a serious problem that needed any action. It is against the law to deface or move a tombstone from a grave…period….and to add to this problem….these tombstones have been off the graves for at least 15 years. I have requested every year for 6 years that this problem be solved. Soooo please tell me what a reasonable amount of time should be for the city to place these stones back on the gravesites. So once again I will tell you that the Middletown Cemetery is not in compliance with ORC 4767.06

It would be only your interpretation of all that I have said and done to come to those conclusions. I was merely thanking a concerned descendant. I did not charge them with solutions. I meant that it is ultimately their WISHES about what SHOULD be done that will be the voice of how the cemetery is treated now that we have a board to represent them. As after all, unless there is enough people willing to come out to fight SOLELY for the historical aspect of the cemetery, it is family members that will be among the most important of citizens involved. And note, they are part of why the board was created. So while it took quite a long time, the complaints of family members have started to, at last, be heard. And again, you have misinterpreted my words at the meeting. I told you directly that I thought it was a serious problem, but that things must be done in a proper order. There is no reason to go about doing things now, only to have them be re-done at a later date, causing two sets of bills to pile up in the process. You as well as I know, there is only so much money. And I am not the one approving it. I am the one trying to attain it. We as a board, are right now at this very time, coming to our top decision at hand: who the Tombstone job will be done by. The vault is number two, only because the money involved- grants, etc... must be waited on in order to complete. But to lump me in with the process that has put this cemetery where it is today is a mistake. I am doing my best to make sure it actually gets brought back to code, not torn down and flattened, and furthermore, to gain higher status in a larger registry as a historical site. I value law, history, and family in this matter. But there is only so much as one board member I can get done on my own. I must work with four other members, and seek to get compliance from them. There is no railroading action I can use to push anything through. I apologize at your dissatisfaction, whether with me, or the board in its entirety. But I care about the cemetery, and the laws governing it.

Summerrain stated " Ms Moon was telling the City how to do their job"   Honest to god if you were running this city or any of the departments would you really want someone that is volunteering to come and tell you how to do your job or run your business??  I don't think so.  Let the Cemetery Board do their job and stop complaining about it.

Well Summerrain I think you need to investigate this matter further.
I did not at any time make any unreasonable requests of any City employees. I did send photos to the public works department concerning downed trees, fences and groundhog holes and any other hazards that I found in the cemetery.
You might want to ask the City why the employees lied about the damage that was done at the cemetery by Ike. It was clearly not the job of a volunteer to meet and correspond with FEMA over a 30 day period to correct the problems at the cemetery.