This article was on the front page of the Valley News today. http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleynewsdispatch/s_462054.html **They are looking for the family of Sarah Ann Kennedy, buried in 1841, in Pucketty Church Cemetery.** PennDOT may have paved part of a cemetery By Tamara Simpson VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH Saturday, July 15, 2006 PennDOT crews recently may have paved over a portion of a 165-year-old grave in a Lower Burrell cemetery. State road crews used fill to stabilize the shoulder of Puckety Church Road in June, and reportedly partially covered a grave with an asphalt base. Crews were preparing the road to be paved late this fall or early next spring, according to PennDOT officials. Dave Enick, PennDOT senior highway maintenance manager for Westmoreland County, said workers stabilized the shoulder of the road along Puckety Church Cemetery and in doing so may have covered a portion of a grave in the cemetery. "Nobody can tell us exactly where the body is," Enick said. The grave of Sarah Ann Kennedy, a 26-year-old woman buried in 1841, lies diagonal to Puckety Church Road. Nearly 100 years after she was buried there, PennDOT acquired a 16.5-foot right of way from the center of the road. Crews extended the road last month to the state's right of way limit, a line outlined by a small, white fence installed by church officials who own and maintain the cemetery. The fence crosses over Kennedy's grave. Enick said there are no historical records that determine how deep Kennedy was buried, the length of her grave, or whether the headstone was placed next to her head, directly above her chin, or above her body. As a result, he said there's no way to say how much of her grave was paved over. Last month, Puckety Church member Howard Newell said, he was visiting family members at the cemetery shortly after crews started working in the area. Although no workers were present when he was there, he noticed someone had been digging near Kennedy's grave. He called PennDOT's 1-800-FIX-ROAD number to alert crews to stop digging there. "I told them another foot-and-a-half (deeper), and they'd be digging into the casket," Newell said. "(A PennDOT official) said they would dig no deeper." But crews have already dug at least 16 inches below the surface of the cemetery on that part of the road, which makes the question of how deep Kennedy was originally buried an important one. Church officials and members don't understand how crews could have paved over part of the grave in the first place. Kennedy's 3-foot-8-inch tall headstone is only 18 inches from the road. Church officials maintain the stone stands high enough and is close enough to the road that it would be nearly impossible to work a few feet from it without noticing its presence. Matt Wehrle, chairman of upkeep for the church and cemetery, can't believe PennDOT officials did not contact the church before digging into the ground that close to a grave. "The thing I don't understand is why they wouldn't have contacted someone to say, 'We're redoing the road. We're going to be cutting to widen the road. Can you give us a drawing of where the graves are?'" Wehrle said. Enick agreed that the church should have been contacted prior to crews working that close to the grave. "In 20/20 hindsight, yes," he said. "We were focused on staying on our right of way and getting the job done." Wehrle admits the church cannot say exactly where Kennedy was buried because records in 1841 didn't include those details. Enick said PennDOT is "very sensitive" to situations like this. He said crews often work near old cemeteries, and exhuming Kennedy's grave and moving it is an option for the church officials to consider. "We would be willing to work with the parish in any way," he said. Wehrle said that church officials met with a PennDOT official on Thursday to discuss the situation. The church's priority, Wehrle said, is finding relatives of Kennedy and determining what their wishes are. "We want to ask them what they want to do," Wehrle said. So far, the church hasn't been able to locate any relatives. Wehrle said that if the family can be contacted, and they want the roadway shifted, church officials will ask PennDOT to move the road. If the family wants the casket exhumed, church officials will ask PennDOT to have the casket exhumed. According to Wehrle, PennDOT officials said that lawyers for both sides might have to get involved. A PennDOT spokesperson couldn't be reached by phone for comment late Friday to discuss the meeting. Wehrle, meantime, said that if the church can't find any of Kennedy's relatives, or if the family doesn't want anything done about the situation, church leaders might push PennDOT to do something. Wehrle didn't elaborate on what the church might ask for. "We'd pretty much like to ask PennDOT to do something about this," he said. Tamara Simpson can be reached at tsimpson@tribweb.com or 724-226-4691.