Closing in on a deal

The Jay County Commissioners are closing in on a deal that will return land containing the forgotten Portland Pioneer Cemetery to the county’s ownership.
Although progress on the conversion had been quiet through the winter months, attorney Bill Hinkle, who has been working with the commissioners, Jay County Cemetery Commissioner and landowner Dean Poole, said an agreement has nearly been reached.
“We’re close, real close,” he said this morning.
The Portland Pioneer Cemetery is located in a wooded area between Jaqua Avenue and the Salamonie River on the south side of Portland. It was in use during the 19th and early 20th century before Green Park Cemetery opened in Portland.
After that, however, the cemetery was forgotten and was overgrown and at some point the land became part of private property, now owned by Poole.
The Jay County Cemetery Commission first expressed an interest in restoring the cemetery in 2008 and has since been trying to get the land back to the county and the cemetery re-opened.
The plans fell dormant but were rekindled again in April 2010. Since then, the commissioners have been attempting to nail down what the cemetery commission wants to do and how to obtain the land from Poole.
This morning, Hinkle was trying to set up a meeting for later today between commissioner Milo Miller Jr. and cemetery commission president Rex Pinkerton to discuss a few issues before the commission’s next meeting Tuesday.
In other business this morning, the commissioners:
•Heard a complaint from rural Portland resident Tom Gaerke. Gaerke explained that he has had several items stolen from his property over the years, including a grain wagon that was stolen last week, and was displeased that county police have been unable to solve the cases.
Miller instructed Gaerke to speak with Jay County Sheriff Ray Newton about the questions and issues he has releated to the complaints.[[In-content Ad]]