Good morning to all, I hope that this bill goes through to passage. As of lately it seems like our cemeteries are taking a major hit. There is a cemetery located in York County that was recently damaged about a week or two ago. There was no vandalism in the sense that kids were running at free will but that of a car for whatever reasons plowed down theses stones, believe me they are what I consider not fixable. It reminded me that they looked as if they exploded. Hopefully the individuals car insurance will cover the costs of replacements. During the reporting of this the news had mentioned something of the bill. However I still believe this is not enough to protect our cemeteries the proper way. To keep these important things out in the open will contstantly keep an important emphasis on how important these final resting places are and should be protected. Our elected officials do see these things. I was surprised by this fact when I received a letter from Bruce Smith's office and which enclosed the article that was done in The York Daily News about the Huntingdon Project. His kind words of appreciation were appreciated and more so that Mr. Smith took upon himself to atleast see the importance of this particular problem. In a message dated 12/13/2003 10:07:24 PM Eastern Standard Time, djzinn@pa.net writes: Hello Fellow Listers: A fellow researcher found the following article in a Pennsylvania paper called "The Paxton Herald" dated December 10, 2003 on Page 13 of Section 2. Thought it may be of interest to you... The article reads..... Bill Protecting Historic Burial Places Headed to Governor A Bill increasing the criminal penalty for the destruction or desecration of historic grave markers or burial places is headed to the Governor for his signature. House Bill 46, sponsored by Rep. Jerry Nailor, would increase the punishment for this offense from a second-degree misdemeanor to a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 and up to five years in jail. A historic burial place is defined as a tract of land that has existed as a burial ground for more than 100 years, and/or is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, as determined by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.