For those of you who visit cemeteries in search of ancestors and find them in unfavorable conditions,This article will I hope be a step in the right direction for Muhlenberg and other Ky counties. Chandler creates panel to consider cemetery oversight 23 May 2001 Associated Press FRANKFORT -- Amid news reports of mismanagement and grave desecration of many cemeteries, Attorney General Ben Chandler has created a panel to recommend changes in oversight of burial sites. Of the more than 900 identified cemeteries in Kentucky, only about 30 percent of them are subject to regulation by the state. Many others have maintenance problems and their care is left to family members and volunteers. "The loved ones of the deceased might not always be able to provide needed maintenance and respectful attention," the attorney general said in a release Monday. The Task Force on the Preservation of Kentucky Cemeteries, which meets for the first time May 30 in Louisville, will determine what corrective actions are needed to protect the integrity of the state's cemeteries. Last week, Chandler filed a lawsuit to address problems at Cove Haven, a historic African-American cemetery in Lexington. Human bones and pieces of coffins were found on top of the ground, and at least 10 families have complained to Chandler's office that they could not find gravesites of loved ones. A Fayette County Circuit Court judge halted new burials in most of the cemetery unless they are approved by an archaeologist and the cemetery proves the plots aren't being resold. Chandler has also worked on problems at three Louisville cemeteries where 115,000 people are buried. "A certain amount of respect is due those who have passed on," said State Sen. Gerald Neal, D-Louisville, a panel member. "It's a public need to pass laws and where appropriate, step in and be creative in making sure they are maintained." Urban County Councilman Jacques Wigginton of Lexington will also serve on the panel. State Rep. Reginald Meeks, D-Louisville, will be chairman of the 24-member task force, which is composed of representatives from groups including the Kentucky League of Cities and African-American and Native American heritage commissions. An effort to have a statewide study of cemeteries never got out of the state Senate at the 2001 General Assembly. The task force is due to make its report by Sept. 30, 2001, so lawmakers can consider legislation once again in 2002. The task force will assess physical conditions and the number of insolvent cemeteries in the state, the number of abandoned cemeteries, the role of state and local government in overseeing cemeteries, and identification of federal or private funding sources. The availability of cemetery space in Kentucky will be determined. The task force will also establish a system for citizens to report cemeteries that need attention from state and local government even though they are private and exempt from state regulation.