An individual requesting to purchase a cemetery plot in one of Turkey Creek Township’s cemeteries has lead to a discovery and a potential offer to purchase property to expand one of the cemeteries.

Turkey Creek Township Advisory Board member Dennis Darr announced Monday evening that he had someone interested in selling some property to make one of the cemeteries larger.

Township Trustee Barb Griffith explained that several years ago an individual expressed interest in purchasing a lot so she began to look at where there were available plots. “I could not find anything,” she stated. She said she checked at the courthouse, with the county genealogy society and the historical society but no maps could be found, so she went out and made her own crude charts based on headstones. But, she added, “There’s a lot of ground I don’t think (any one is buried in) or know who is buried there.”

It was noted that conversations have been held with Charlie Harris and other funeral directors who say pauper graves are unmarked and the only way to determine if a plot is occupied is by taking a rod and prodding the ground, something Griffith has no interest in doing.

“The township cemeteries were never mapped, there’s no records that I can find,” reiterated Griffith, noting that is why she has not been selling funeral plots.

The cemetery in question is already one-half acre and the potential land seller would be interested in selling property to double the size. Griffith said there is money available in the cemetery appropriation, a fund which the township has to have. Questioned what the offer was, Darr said it would be affordable.

Board member Bill Dixon asked to set an executive session to negotiate with the landowner on the size of the lot for sale and the price.

New Ambulance Rates

Advisory board members signed a resolution establishing new ambulance rates effective July 1. Turkey Creek Township Fire Territory Fire Chief Mickey Scott had presented the suggestion on several occasions and based on the Interlocal Cooperation Agreement for the fire territory, adoption of these rates falls under the township’s authority.

The new rates will be: Basic Life Support service from $700 per run to $800 per run; Advanced Life Support, from $840 per run to $900 per run; ALS2, from $900 per run to $1,000 per run and mileage from $15 per loaded mile to $80 per loaded mile.

These rates were recommended by the EMS billing company to fall more in-line with other EMS service rates. Scott also noted that even with the increase, these rates are less than any other EMS service in the area.

The next meeting for the township advisory board will be 7 p.m. July 9, at Turkey Creek Fire Station 2.

For complete coverage on the Tippecanoe Township Advisory Board meeting, see this week’s issue of The Mail-Journal.