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Email: Wed, Jun 03, 2009 08:26 AM
Vivian 

Thank you for the pictures.  I remember seeing the standing  headstones for Frazee Bishop and Elizabeth (Lamb) Bishop Worth on two different occasions during trips to OH.  Was shocked to see their condition in a Feb. 2007 picture posted in findagrave.com.  Their stones were no longer standing and hers had been broken into several pieces.  Do you know who is responsible for maintenance of the cemetery?  I am wondering if the stones were restored and reset or what has happened to them.  
Jay G. Lamb
bJGLamb@aol.com

Find A Grave Website

Ms Gilleland & City Council Members
    I thought today I would share the above email that I received this morning concerning the vandalism of Mr. Lamb’s family tombstones at the Middletown Cemetery.
    “Do you know who is responsible for maintenance of the cemetery?” Now this is a really good question? Just who is responsible for this cemetery?
    “I am wondering if the stones were restored and reset or what has happened to them.” Yet another great question from Mr. Lamb. Who is responsible for the restoration of these broken tombstones that now litter the grounds of the Middletown Cemetery? Who is responsible for the security of the Middletown Cemetery?
    Please tell me how I should respond to this email?
    In 2005-2006 all the tombstones in the Middletown Cemetery were photographed and placed online. For the past four years I have researched and corrected burial information for all those buried there. I answer and share information with thousands of people from all over the world concerning those buried at the Middletown Cemetery. I have spent hundreds of hours on this web site and answering emails about the history of Middletown. However…I’m told over and over by the City Manager & City Council that the Middletown Cemetery and vault just aren’t a priority in this community. I know for a fact that more people visit the Middletown Cemetery each year than has ever walked through the doors of the Pickwick Building or the Canal Museum.
    Hmmmm….If it is a NECESSITY to preserve and protect the historic houses on Main Street and all those historic buildings in downtown…then why isn’t it a NECESSITY to care for cemetery and restore the Vault at the Middletown Cemetery. Why isn’t the cemetery viewed with the same importance and or even more importance since it is the burial place of our founding father and the most historic site in Middletown. Why can’t CDBG funds be used at the cemetery when these same funds were used for the restoration of Main Street and Downtown? Why weren’t they required to go out and get public funding for these projects? Why are those that use the bike path not required to go out and get public funding to finish the bike pathway that they use? Why aren’t those that use the Commons required to go out and get public funding for the new parking lot that they will use? Why is it only the Middletown Cemetery that can’t be funded with CDBG money?
    (d) Foster civic pride in the beauty and notable accomplishments of the past; Yes sir…Don’t plant any flowers, tear down the Vault and don’t take care of cemetery and let Mr. Doty be buried in a weed patch. Yes sir this is just the way to show all that CIVIC PRIDE.
   
CHAPTER 1210:  HISTORIC PRESERVATION

1210.01  POLICY AND PURPOSE.

The City hereby declares as a matter of public policy that the preservation, protection, perpetuation and use of areas, places, structures, works of art or similar objects having a special historical or aesthetic interest or value are a public necessity and are required in the interest of the health, prosperity, safety and welfare of the people. (Webster Dictionary – necessity – 1. the state or fact of being inevitable or necessary. 2. something essential, esp. to existence. 3. poverty; great need. 4. compulsion.)
The purpose of this chapter is to:

(a)  Preserve and protect the heritage of the City by delineating structures, sites and areas that reflect the City’s cultural, social, economic and architectural history;

(b) Stabilize and improve property values;

(c)  Protect and enhance the City’s attractions to residents, tourists and visitors, and to encourage business and industry;

(d) Foster civic pride in the beauty and notable accomplishments of the past;

(e)  Strengthen the economy of the City;

(f)  Protect and enhance the visual and aesthetic character, diversity and interest in the City;

(g)     Promote the use and preservation of historic sites and structures for the education and general welfare of the residents of the City;

(h)     Safeguard the property rights of the owners whose property is declared to be an historic site or is located in an area designated as an historic district;

(i)   Develop appropriate settings for designated historic sites or historic districts; and

(j)   Establish a Council on Landmarks and Historic Districts.

(Ord. O91‑19, passed 3‑5‑1991)