Sunday, June 03, 2007
Editorial: Christiansburg has a stake in Sunset
Only the town remains to oversee the cemetery.
From the RoundTable blog
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Christiansburg's cemetery problem does not involve the dead rising from their graves to feast on human flesh, but it is just as serious in an entirely different way. No one, it seems, wishes to run Sunset Cemetery. Without volunteers or private interests willing to take over, it falls to the town to maintain the facility.
The Christiansburg Cemetery Corp. has owned and operated the graveyard for decades, and in recent years, its supervisory board has done a fantastic job. Board members, particularly Ann Carter, have kept the 33-acre cemetery running with uncounted hours of volunteer work.
Carter, for example, has been managing day-to-day business for 17 years without compensation. No one should fault her and the others for wanting to turn things over to someone else now that they have put Sunset on solid footing.
Unfortunately, they have been unable to find replacements. New volunteers have not come forward, and no private operators appear interested in purchasing Sunset.
The Sunset supervisors have therefore asked the town to take over, but officials are cool to the idea. Operating a cemetery with about 8,000 bodies already in the ground and room for thousands more is expensive. The upkeep, burial preparations and general bookkeeping, all of which Carter has overseen for free, would require hiring staff and perhaps diverting town resources.
Yet what alternative is there? As regrettable as it is, the current supervisors, all of whom are senior citizens, will not be around forever. One died in January and has not been replaced. Nor is it fair to expect the others to continue in their positions indefinitely.
If Sunset management ceases, Christiansburg would face the prospect of a large tract that could quickly fall into disrepair and become an eyesore. Overrun by weeds and vandals, the undead would be the least of the town's worries.
There would be some advantages to town ownership, too. Sunset contains a wealth of local history worth community investment. It also can serve as open space for walking and quiet contemplation in a town noticeably short on park land.
What it should not become is a money pit. If the town takes over, it should set rates for plots and grave services at levels to break even. Taxpayers need not subsidize burials.
