A volunteer on Hampton, New Hampshire's Historical Society is putting forth a petition warrant article to voters in March asking them to eliminate the Trustees of the Cemetery in Hampton. Martha Williams said she believes the town would be better served by putting the town manager in charge of its cemeteries rather than the three-member elected board.
"I just want to put forth the article and the let voters decide," Williams said. "Right now there is no accountability and (the trustees) can do whatever they want."
The warrant article comes at a time when the Historical Society and the Cemetery Trustees have butted heads regarding the records of burials at the High Street Cemetery.
Society members have offered to computerize the cemetery records for free because they say they have received a lot of requests from researchers and relatives interested in genealogy. However, they claim the trustees have refused that proposal.
Williams also said the trustees have been less than honest with the society.
"First, we asked about mapping the cemetery and they said there was no money to do that," Williams said. "Then we find out they already have a map of the cemetery.
"When we asked to copy their files, they said we couldn't because there was no heat in the cemetery building, then we find out there was heat," she said. "I just don't understand why we are getting the runaround."
You can read more at http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20100112-NEWS-1120344.
