CEMETERY Board rescinds decision

The board previously said it would relocate a grave site.
SALEM -- The Woodsdale Cemetery Board has rescinded a decision it made earlier this month about relocating a grave site.
At a meeting Jan. 3, trustees had voted unanimously to move the vault of Thomas Pike, who had died in November. His family had contacted trustees after the burial noting that Pike was not buried in the proper place and was encroaching on the next plot. The trustees of Hanover and Butler townships jointly operate the cemetery, which is in Hanover Township.
At a special meeting Monday, Butler Township Trustee Homer Althouse said he had contacted the prosecutor's office after Jan. 3 and was told the vault should not be moved at taxpayers' expense. Estimated cost to move the vault is $300.
Butler Township Trustee Wayne Herron questioned whether the family would be willing to pay to move Pike's vault and said he hated to go back on his word after promising the family the vault would be moved.
Reversal: Cemetery trustees then voted 5-1 to rescind the earlier decision to move Pike's vault. Voting in favor were Hanover trustees Donald Wilson, David Haley, and Leroy Ridgeway and Butler trustees Tom Sanor and Althouse. Herron voted no.
Pike's daughter, Susan Pike, was at the meeting but did not address the cemetery board. After the meeting, however, she advised the board to contact former sexton Mike Bryan to tell them whether Pike's grave site was in the proper location.
"He's buried 12 inches into a grave we don't own," Ms. Pike alleged. She said she may seek legal action to get the issue resolved.