43
Historic Liberty tombstones to be fixed
ODOT also will extend guardrail by 75 feet
By jeanne starmack
liberty
The township is going ahead with repairs to five historic headstones that were damaged when a Hummer crashed into Church Hill Cemetery in June.
The Ohio Department of Transportation also has agreed to extend the guardrail 75 feet along the side of Churchill Road where the large vehicle went in.
That portion of the cemetery along the road is the oldest, with some of the graves there dating back 200 years.
Trustee Jodi Stoyak had written to Anthony Urankar, ODOT District 4 Deputy Director, about extending the guardrail after the June 26 accident.
Even though the record of who is buried in the graves there are lost, she said, it is still important to preserve and protect the graves.
ODOT’s letter to the township, dated July 23, said the guardrail would be up within 30 days.
Trustees have also accepted a proposal to restore the five headstones for $2,750.
A previous estimate for $20,000 was to replace them with new stones.
Cemetery Conservation, LLC of Girard, owned by Lauren Worona, will do the work.
According to the proposal, the work includes removing the stones to prepare sites with proper drainage; excavation and preparation for resetting; new foundations; and reseeding. Each stone will be cleaned and treated for biological growth according to proper conservation techniques and using approved materials appropriate for that stone, the proposal says.
The work will be performed “in accordance with the American Institute for Conservation’s Code of Ethics and the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards,” it says.
Reassembling, as with one of the headstones that has “cracked multiple times and requires time-consuming repair,” will be with restoration mortar.
The accident happened when Raymond Lewis Jr., 58, of Girard lost control of his vehicle and crashed through the cemetery fence the afternoon of June 26. He told the Ohio State Highway Patrol he doesn’t remember the accident.
Insurance is paying for the damaged headstones and for the cemetery fence, which will cost about $1,800 to replace.