Published: September 20, 2008 02:15 am      

Preparing for facelift

Local match needed for IOOF Cemetery project

FAIRMONT — The Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery in Farmington is the final resting for so many former members of the community.

The cemetery holds the remains of some of the men who died in the Farmington mine disaster in 1968.

The road to the cemetery is a narrow, winding gravel lane, said Bob Jones, secretary and trustee of the IOOF Eclectic Lodge No. 67.

“The road is in terrible shape,” Jones said. “At times it’s almost impassible.”

However, the cemetery road may soon be getting a facelift thanks to a state grant program. The Farmington Odd Fellows Lodge recently received a $42,500 grant from the Governor’s Community Participation Program to pave the road leading into the cemetery.

However, the grant requires a $7,500 local match before it can be used. The Odd Fellows lodge is accepting donations to help fund the project, said Rosemary Raschella, administrative assistant at Region VI Planning and Development Council, the agency that helped the fraternal organization secure the grant funding.

“This cemetery is for the whole community,” she said. “It’s open to the public.”

Donations may be mailed to the I.O.O.F. Eclectic Lodge No. 67, P.O. Box 115, Farmington, WV 26571. “Cemetery access road fund” should be written in the memo section of the check. Raschella added that all donations are tax-deductible.

Any money received above the $7,500 will be used for other improvements at the cemetery, such as cutting trees in the cemetery, said Bill Criado, treasurer at the lodge.

Approximately 3,800 feet of the road leading to the cemetery would need to be paved, according to Jones. Bids for the project are currently being submitted and will be opened Oct. 6, Raschella said. The bid will be awarded shortly thereafter, she added.

“And the company that gets the job should be able to start right after they’re awarded the bid,” Raschella said. “We’re hoping to have it done before winter.”

E-mail Paul Fallon at pfallon@timeswv.com.