Town to re-establish cemetery committee

Burials in the historic Tryon Cemetery are few and far between with the cemetery being 95 percent or better full.

The Town of Tryon recently received an offer to trade lots in order to expand its cemetery with council directing interim town manager Joey Davis to research the possibility.

Council met Feb. 19 and announced it had received an offer to trade lots the town owns for a piece of property contiguous to the cemetery, located off Markham Road.

After discussing concerns with a swap, council decided to re-instate its cemetery committee, which was established in 2003 to maintain the property. The committee was named in memory of the late Jules Larsen, who volunteered his time maintaining the cemetery.

Commissioner Roy Miller said there is a lady who is willing to sell the town the property adjoining the cemetery, which he said is probably at 95 percent or more capacity. Miller said he and commissioner George Baker looked at the property earlier on Feb. 19 and the town owns three lots the woman is interested in.

Town attorney Bailey Nager said if the town is going to do a swap, one issue the town should be cautioned about is the property next to the cemetery has a house on it and there could be environmental issues with the house.

Baker said he has additional concerns, such as what the law may be about converting land into a cemetery and what permits may be necessary.

Baker also said he’s uncomfortable not knowing the status of the cemetery and thinks the town needs a cemetery committee.