Published: June 03, 2008 07:54 am      

Fountain County restores cemeteries

Commission seeks donations of tools

COVINGTON, Ind. — Several long-forgotten cemeteries in Fountain County are being restored.

Jasper Fogelman, commissioner with the Fountain County Cemetery Commission, told the Fountain County Commissioners of several successes Monday.

“We have finished with Birch Cemetery near Stone Bluff,” he said. “We have found 123 burials with 30-40 under the road.”

Ward Cemetery in Troy Township is next on the list, when volunteers can get into it. At the New Century Cemetery south of Veedersburg volunteers are probing for stones.

“We found the graves,” he said.

The Fisher Cemetery has been located in a cornfield a half-mile from Cates.

“Most of the cemeteries were destroyed after World War II,” Fogleman said. “We are getting some progress little by little.”

The cemetery commission could use some donations of tools. Contact Fogleman at (765) 294-0146.

In other business, the county commissioners:

-- Approved the purchase of a steadfast bridge from Culvert Plus Inc. of Bedford for $228,136 to replace Bridge 104 off U.S. Route 41 north of Veedersburg. That bridge was damaged by a truck using that route as a detour when U.S. 41 was closed.

-- Approved a $62,000 additional request for preliminary engineering in removing Bridge No. 5 off Stringtown Road south of Covington. The bridge will be moved to Evansville.

-- Learned from Sheriff Bobby Bass that a sheriff’s deputy and a reserve officer were hurt when their police car drove into a sink hole on County Road 450 South off U.S. 41 during the storm over the weekend. The vehicle was totaled. The two police officers were treated at a hospital and released.

-- Gave an approval to the ambulance building grant proposal since it is included in the next round of state grants. A public hearing on the proposal will be during the June 16 meeting.

-- Approved $500,000 in the motor vehicle highway fund to be transferred to a new miscellaneous bridge line item.

-- Sold the former Richard Township School site at 312 E. Washington St. in Newtown to Bill Peevler for $500.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Fountain County Commissioners will meet at 6:30 p.m. EDT June 16 at the courthouse.