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Tulare County public comment calls attention to neglected Elbow Creek Cemetery and questions district responsibility
Summary
A resident told the Board of Supervisors that Elbow Creek Cemetery has been neglected for decades and accused the Visalia Public Cemetery District of denying responsibility; he asked the board to compel corrective action and said county assessor records show district ownership since 1993.
A Tulare County resident used the board’s public-comment period to press officials to address long-standing neglect at Elbow Creek Cemetery and to request county intervention.
Bill Callahan told supervisors the cemetery has been deteriorating “for the last 20 plus years,” with weeds six to seven feet tall, uprooted headstones and little maintenance. He said he had documentation from the county assessor’s office showing the Visalia Public Cemetery District has owned the property since 1993, but that the district and some county staff have told him the cemetery is not the district’s responsibility and that the district performs only biannual courtesy cleanups.
Callahan said a partial monument listing names was erected but that the district has refused to locate or restore grave markers and that the site’s small size (about 3.1 acres, he said) makes correction feasible. He urged the Board of Supervisors to use its authority over cemetery-district board appointments to press the Visalia Public Cemetery District to repair and maintain the site.
The chair thanked Callahan for his remarks; no board action on the item was recorded during the meeting. Callahan said he had photographs documenting the cemetery’s condition and that he had contacted state and district offices without a satisfactory response.
