Did anyone check cemetery laws?

I am extremely appalled that the city of Siloam Springs would think that people would not care about a sidewalk being constructed through a historic

cemetery! It was bad enough when the cemetery was dese- crated the first time in 1976 by placing all of the stones in a circle, thus altering the integrity of the cemetery in its original state and affecting the sacredness of our loved-one’s final resting place.

It is for reasons such as these that the Benton County Cemetery Preservation Group and the Washington County Preservation Group were formed. People need to know that those two groups, and in particular the Benton County group in the case of Hico Cemetery, are a great resource for information when it

comes to situations such as these. Did anybody check with the Arkansas State Cemetery Laws before beginning construction of the sidewalk? Apparently not.

For if they would have they would know the following:

• 5-39-211. Cemeteries — Mining and other unlawful entries. (a) It is unlawful for any corporation, company, or individual to: (3) Make, place, or drive any slope, pit, or entry of any kind into, under, through, or across any cemetery, graveyard, or other burying place in this state. (b) Any corporation, company, or individual violating a provision of this section is guilty of a Class D felony.

And this is just one of several laws.