HANSEN, Idaho — Voters in Hansen and Kimberly will decide next month whether to form a maintenance district to fund the historic Rock Creek Cemetery.
The proposed district would generate roughly $80,000 per year to maintain the pioneer resting place, which is currently cared for by a single 75-year-old volunteer. The measure requires a two-thirds majority approval to pass on May 19.
WATCH: Voters in Hansen and Kimberly will decide on a maintenance district to fund the historic Rock Creek Cemetery, currently cared for by one volunteer.
Greg Bryant has been the sole volunteer keeping the cemetery maintained since 2010, but he said he can no longer keep it going all by himself.
"It's just a struggle to maintain and have enough money. A couple of years ago, I had to buy new mowers and stuff like that, and then to pay for the electricity and water, whatever else. We're just struggling to get by," Bryant said.
The proposed maintenance district boundary stretches from 3300 East to 3900 East, and from 3100 North to 3700 North. If approved, the cost to taxpayers would be $16.17 per $100,000 of assessed property value.
"That will allow us to have money to hire somebody to do improvements," added Bryant.
The funds would go toward a new sprinkler system and fixing uneven ground caused by deteriorating caskets.
"100 years ago, 150 years ago, they just threw a wood casket in the ground, and well, it's all deteriorated now, and the ground sinks. So it's up and down, very uneven, but it takes money to fix all that, and we don't have the money to do that," explained Bryant.
Rock Creek Cemetery is the first public cemetery in Southern Idaho. Over the past 150 years, its care has changed hands multiple times. In the 1980s, the cemetery was on the verge of being forgotten until local World War II veterans stepped in to save it. It then became the Rock Creek and Magic Valley Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
"The veterans started taking care of this in 1988/89 because it wasn't being taken care of then. It was run down; it was totally neglected," recalled Bryant.
Almost 40 years later, those original volunteers have passed away, leaving Bryant to maintain the grounds alone.
"I think it's very special, if you look at the history and who’s around here and what's happened around here. Right behind me here is the monument for the Stricker's; most people around here know the Stricker's," Bryant said.
The Stricker family is known throughout Southern Idaho as one of the founding pioneer families.
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