Family saving cemetery in Letcher County

An attempt was made to declare a local cemetery abandoned, so it could be quietly relocated. Although we were the first to contact the funeral home that posted the notice, it was a total family effort that resulted in the cemetery being saved, at least for the time being. Many relatives have come forward to oppose the relocation. Some have written letters to government officials and media, and the Facebook response has been overwhelmingly supportive. Some have filed citizens' complaints with the Division of Mines and Minerals, since both this cemetery and another in which two bodies were disinterred are located on land which was sold to the current coal company by the man who began the effort to move the cemetery.

Ultimately, the Letcher Fiscal Court would have to rule that cemetery was abandoned, or that its removal was in the best interest of the county. The fiscal court, based on the county attorney's opinion and information given by relatives of those buried in the cemetery, has informed the coal company that they do not intend to allow the cemetery removal.

Additionally, the fiscal court plans to reactivate the Letcher County Cemetery Board. This board was established around 2004, but state grant funding dried up in 2008. However, there is some effort in Frankfort to restore funding, in part because of the publicity surrounding this episode. The family would like to thank The Mountain Eagle and The Appalachian Law Center, as well as several state agencies and numerous private citizens who have offered moral and physical support, advice, and information.

We will be at the Fiscal Court meeting Monday to thank them for their support, to make sure that no one successfully asks them to approve the removal, and to help begin the new version of the Cemetery Board.

*More about this story can be found in the Mountain Eagle archives and Associated Press coverage.  Everyone is welcome to attend tonight's Letcher County Fiscal Court meeting, Monday, Feb. 18, in the Letcher County Courthouse downstairs court room at 6:30 p.m. to support the Caudill family.