This is an article from today's Messenger-Inquirer newspaper, in Owensboro, Daviess Co., KY. Thought that it might be of interest to some of you. Nadine Cemetery's maintenance a concern Group meets with county officials to discuss Greenwood Cemetery's future 8 May 2001 By James Mayse Messenger-Inquirer A group of residents concerned about Greenwood Cemetery's future is unhappy about plans to sell the cemetery at public auction this month. The residents met Monday with county officials to discuss ways to ensure the cemetery will be maintained. The cemetery, which is part of a 16-acre tract at Leitchfield Road and East Parrish Avenue, will be sold at a master commissioner sale May 21. The property was ordered auctioned by Daviess Circuit Court after two people who own stock in the company that developed the cemetery filed suit to have the land auctioned. Although 1,000 to 2,000 people own stock in the company, the two pressing for the auction own 40 percent of the stock. Only about 100 of the remaining stockholders have been located. No one has been buried in the cemetery since 1974, but it contains about 600 graves, some dating back to the Spanish-American War. After the cemetery was abandoned in the 1980s, it became overgrown with vegetation and a dumping ground for trash. "It was a wilderness," said Wesley Acton, who led the drive to clean up the cemetery. "It was a jungle -- grown-up vines, trees and bushes, and people had thrown trash all over the place." Volunteers began cleaning the site in 1996, Acton said, and the work took four years. Now, Acton said he is concerned the new owner will not maintain the site. Daviess County Judge-Executive Reid Haire said he met with Acton and other members of the Greenwood Cemetery Restoration Committee to "take a look and determine if this is something Daviess County Fiscal Court might want to become involved in," and "if the county government can play a role in preserving that cemetery." The cemetery covers 11 of the 16 acres up for sale. The remaining five acres "may be very valuable" for development, Haire said. Haire said he had not determined if the county would be able to take any action concerning the cemetery. In January, Owensboro officials announced they would consider purchasing the property. On Monday, City Manager Ron Payne said city commissioners had decided not to pursue the issue. "There were too many hurdles to jump," Payne said. Commissioners questioned how the property would be maintained, whether the rest of the land could be developed and how the city would purchase property outside city limits, Payne said. "It was going to be a lot complicated," he said. Russel Jones, an Owensboro attorney who represents some of the stockholders, said state statute mandates that every cemetery be maintained by its owner. "The statute is very plain," Jones said. But people concerned about the property are afraid a new property owner will ignore the statute, Jones said. "I think it's a statute that's very difficult to enforce," Acton said.