Dorchester board plans fall field trips, formalizes survey process and seeks to protect burial-site records

The Dorchester County Burial Site Preservation Board on a regularly scheduled meeting reviewed a recent statewide preservation conference, agreed to plan fall field trips and public outreach, and discussed formalizing how completed cemetery surveys will be stored and used by county offices.

Joe Harrop, a board member who attended the Coalition annual conference in Hagerstown, said the session offered “a lot of really helpful information” and reported the county did not receive any coalition grant awards but that smaller grants could help local preservation efforts. “I wanna thank the board and the county for the opportunity to represent our board at the Coalition annual conference in Hagerstown,” Harrop said, summarizing highlights and offering to circulate the coalition materials he received.

The board’s outreach planning centered on fall field trips to local cemeteries, with members asking staff for two optional dates and formats (land- and boat-accessible sites) to present at the next meeting. Karen Collin, who is leading the outreach planning with Harrop, said she favored a fall schedule and proposed creating two “field trip” options for members to review. The board discussed sites that range from well-preserved church…