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
Odebolt State Bank. Any donation
would be greatly appreciated. The Board thanks those who have already
responded.
Odebolt Cemetery Board
c/o Odebolt State Bank
100 South Main Street
Odebolt, Iowa 51458