What Did He Say?!

Pictured : Typical Neglected Gravesite

Daily Astorian - 5-23-2008I have followed news of the proposed Clat­sop County Cemetery District with inter­est. Maintenance of cemeteries is a con­cern, but a new government agency is not the answer. To keep costs down and mainte­nance up, alternatives requiring less gov­ernment involvement should be explored. Possibilities might include creation of a maintenance endowment through tax deductible contributions amtasking histor­ical societies to supervise truly historic cemeteries. Involving government creates problems: What happens to real estate and other assets, how are future rights to burial plots pro­tected, and what happens to paid and vol­unteer labor currently doing this work? Tax support would unfairly come from many taxpayers who choose cremation and others who choose their final resting place else­where. If this problem must be solved now, let's look for nongovernmental solutions: this should cost less, provide more and better maintenance and allow this generation to control cemeteries where ancestors rest.J AMES C. CASTERLINE Gearhart

In answer to “Not an answer” – the Daily Astoria letters to the Editor.

Thank you for showing interest in the Clatsop Cemetery District. A proposed idea for a Countywide Cemetery district for Clatsop County to care, maintain and restore the 17 known cemeteries in Clatsop County is not a new idea in Oregon. There are taxpayer-funded districts in many areas of Oregon, as there are 60 and more such cemetery districts in existence in Oregon. Example: The Rainier Cemetery District (10 cemeteries) is strictly funded by tax money and governed by 3 elected board members, and further the Echo Cemetery District in Hermiston is a separate taxation district with its own board of directors, just to mention 2. Clatsop County has 17 cemeteries, of which 8 or 9 are being in use, and are being cared for by a dwindling number of volunteers, and that is the crux of the matter. We are thinking different in this Country in comparison with most other countries in the world, namely that our deceased are buried in a 3X9 foot space that hopefully will be cared for in all eternity by “somebody” else. The family of the deceased seems to be the first and closest “somebody”, which might have been the solution in the olden days, when most families stayed put. However, that is no longer a workable solution for care and maintenance of most cemeteries. In the rest of the world a space in a cemetery is rented from the authorities, and a maintenance contract for so many years of care is signed and paid for up front. After a number of years such contract must be renewed or that same space will be used over by a different party. In our constant mowing society, who is going to come back and care for a lost friends final place of rest, very likely no one. The local people are then expected to take of their free time to look after those left behind grave sites. Unfortunately for many reasons such as more cremations and less full burials, income from services and sale of plots, from tax deductible donations and income from perpetual trust funds is decreasing at such rates, that there is no longer enough income to cover the cost of care, maintenance, restoration, record keeping of the Clatsop County Cemeteries. The taxpayers of City of Astoria heavily subsidize the Ocean View Cemetery where a greater number of Clatsop County Citizens prefer to be buried. Our proposed cemetery district will be electing 5 non-paid directors, one from each area of the County. There is more than 100 acres of cemetery grounds that needs to be cared for on a regular schedule, and that alone is an awful big job for any to get done on their free time. It is only fair to my mind that this job needs to be done to preserve the memory and history of those who went before, who laid down their hard work and consideration for those of us who are enjoying our days of high standard of living, and it is up to all the inhabitants of Clatsop County to share that burden.