As you know in the past months we have discussed the awful condition of this or that cemetery in these counties. Terrible conditions and treatment of cemeteries has left me speechless at times while I read the stones and try to figure out even how big a cemetery used to be by the debris . Very few times has anyone come to rescue a cemetery. Coontown Cemetery Association is one of the few lately and they are going to have to fight an uphill battle to protect it from further damage. Texas does not protect its cemeteries . They have passed a few laws but the local law enforcment do not respond. I have been at a cemetery with serious damage to one of those fancy above ground vaults where someone had taken a truck on top of other tombstones and used it to chain and yank the doors off the vault after removing the hinges. The sheriffs dept took hours to repond and then were actually scared to look inside the vault! All they did is scribble notes and leave as fast as possible . Nothing was done. In that same week someone tore into the same type of vault in Greenville texas that made the news because the thieves were after the bones of the dead! Fannin county Sheriffs do not repond, cemetery damage is the lowest priority. Please consider signing the petition! http://www.PetitionOnline.com/sg0001/petition.html Susan Hawkins There is a new movement afoot to make damaging a cemetery a federal offense and to give protection .