CEMETERY BOARD ASKING FOR HELP
In a letter to The Chronicle the Odebolt Cemetery Board spelled out the need for monetary donations to help with maintenance costs for Odebolt Cemetery. Basic costs are mowing, tree and stump removal, gravel for the driveways, electricity, snow removal, minimal administrative and legal fees, monument repairs, tree replacement and spraying.
Low interest rates have forced the Board to withdraw not only interest, but principal from existing funds over the past several years. Using principal further depletes the funds and the Board's future financial well-being.
After a plot is purchased and after burial, care-taking continues forever. Hundreds of the graves have no local family to tend them. The Board is asking that local and non-local families whose relatives are buried in the cemetery, to please consider donating toward the maintenance fund.
The Board is looking for
- Major private donations to bolster the funds used in maintaining the cemetery.
- Volunteers to aid in research and writing for grants
- Local assistance with maintenance throughout the year and especially after storms.
Donations can be dropped off or sent to the First State Bank. Any donation would be greatly appreciated. The Board thanks those who have already responded.
Odebolt Cemetery Board
c/o First State Bank
P.O. Box 467
Odebolt, Iowa 51458