Has anyone been to the cemetery at Baisden. I remember it was near the Glandon family home. I am looking for Blankenship's buried there. John Blankenship, his wife Vicie Carter Blankenship and their family. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Margie Blankenship Salazar Mary Ann Merritt wrote: > Thought I would pass this on. Very important piece if legislation. All > counties should forward this to the appropriate government official in their > district. > > Cemetery-preservation law proposed for Jessamine > By Greg Kocher > CENTRAL KENTUCKY BUREAU > NICHOLASVILLE Within the next few weeks, Jessamine > Fiscal Court will consider a proposed ordinance that > aims to protect and maintain private family or > abandoned cemeteries threatened by development. > > It's an ordinance that local cemetery researcher > Howard Curry Teater said is long overdue, given > instances in the past where rural cemeteries were > destroyed or bulldozed. Since 1972, Teater has > cataloged 303 cemeteries in Jessamine County. > > ``I've seen so many of them torn up, it's > unmentionable,'' Teater said. > > If the ordinance passes, it will be one of the few > such countywide ordinances in the state, said Karla > Nicholson, state services specialist for the Kentucky > Historical Society. > > ``It's fairly rare in Kentucky,'' Nicholson said. > > The proliferation of subdivisions and the loss of > agricultural land to development was the impetus for > the Jessamine ordinance, said David Dyer, a consultant > from Bluegrass Area Development District who assists > the Jessamine County planning commission. > > ``Since there is so much happening down there with new > subdivisions, that was the reasoning for having this > sort of thing,'' Dyer said. ``They want to keep their > heritage intact.'' > > State law allows county fiscal courts to declare > cemeteries abandoned, for purposes of relocation, when > it is deemed ``to be in the best interest of the > county.'' Expenses for the removal or relocation of > graves are paid by the person requesting removal. > > But the Jessamine ordinance provides a second option: > requiring the developer or landowner to protect and > maintain the cemetery on the property to be subdivided > or developed. > > Among the proposed ordinance's provisions: > > If a property owner or developer discovers a > cemetery, all work in the area must stop immediately > and it is to be reported to the planning commission. > > The proposed ordinance prohibits grading, paving or > putting a new building within 30 feet of an existing > cemetery. And it requires a developer to repair or > replace any cemetery walls or fences. Existing iron, > stone or masonry fences are to be replaced with the > same type of material. > > At the time the fence is constructed, dead or > decaying trees and heavy underbrush are to be removed. > Weeds and other debris must be removed each year, and > grass is to be cut routinely. > > If the cemetery doesn't have a fence, the developer > must erect a new one once the cemetery's boundaries > are known. > > If sufficient evidence about the boundaries isn't > known, the county may require the developer to have a > professional archaeologist view the site and determine > its boundaries and the potential number of grave > sites. > > The ordinance also requires that the developer > provide public or ``controlled access'' to the > cemetery, meaning that descendants must seek > permission before going onto the land to visit the > cemetery. That access easement is to be recorded in > the Jessamine County Clerk's Office and on the final > development plan. > > The Jessamine County-City of Wilmore Joint Planning > Commission passed the ordinance in July and has > forwarded it to Jessamine Fiscal Court for > consideration. No hearing date has been set, but the > ordinance wouldn't become law until fiscal court > approves it. > > The Jessamine ordinance is patterned after one that > Boone Fiscal Court passed in the early 1990s. And in > 1994, Lexington's Urban County Government passed an > ordinance that sought to preserve and maintain > cemeteries threatened by development. Another is being > drafted in Jefferson County with the help of > University of Louisville archaeologist Phil DiBlasi. > Outside of those, experts say they aren't familiar > with any other similar ordinances in Kentucky. > > But ordinances like the Jessamine proposal are > becoming more common around the country, said Bill > Spurlock, who operates Saving Graves, an Internet site > that supports and encourages the protection, > restoration and preservation of endangered cemeteries. > > ``Most laws like this are found in high-growth > suburban counties'' like Jessamine, Spurlock said. > > Jessamine Fiscal Court Magistrate George Dean said the > Jessamine proposal doesn't mean that farmers will have > to maintain existing abandoned cemeteries on their > land. > > ``But if you subdivide and develop that property, we > want you to do something to protect that cemetery,'' > Dean said. ``I look at it as sacred ground, and there > shouldn't be anybody disturbing it.'' > > Reach Greg Kocher in the Nicholasville bureau at (859) > 885-5775 or [email protected] > > ===== > Search for your Ancestors in Eastern KentuckySurnames Of East > Kentuckyhttp://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~kyroots/surnames.htmlsubscr > ibe to > [email protected]://genweb.net/Kentucky-RootsICQ # > 22662703 > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere! > http://mail.yahoo.com/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > [email protected]