Agency seeks to expedite removal of graves at cemetery

Published 4:39 pm Friday, October 6, 2017

LOYALL (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will seek an emergency court order to move about 60 additional graves to repair a landslide threatening a Kentucky cemetery.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the agency will seek the court order to expedite grave relocation from the Wix Howard Cemetery in Loyall to Resthaven Cemetery.

An agency news release says the normal process of getting court authorization could take up to two years. The newspaper reports the agency doesn’t want to wait that long because of concern that rainy periods could worsen and affect more graves.

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The agency has contacted relatives for the known graves, and they have agreed to a removal plan.

In 2016, six graves in immediate risk of being unearthed from the slide were moved, including Revolutionary War soldier Samuel Howard and his family.