Did the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors make the correctdecision when they decided against building and maintaining anaccess road to the Old Saron Cemetery? We don’t know, because likeothers, we can see both sides of this issue.

Did the Lincoln County Board of Supervisors make the correctdecision when they decided against building and maintaining anaccess road to the Old Saron Cemetery? We don’t know, because likeothers, we can see both sides of this issue.

Brookhaven resident Steve Melancon is leading the effort to havethe road built. Melancon and other supporters of the plan cite thehistorical significance of the cemetery, which is the final restingplace of some of this area’s first settlers.

The supervisors, in their denial of the request, mentionedseveral issues, including possible legal problems, the economy, andthe likelihood of ‘opening a can of worms’ if they agreed to builda road to one cemetery.

The county board also sees this particular request as more of aprivate concern than a public one, and we can certainly see thatpoint. On the other hand, as Melancon pointed out, the historicalsignificance of the Old Saron Cemetery has been recognized throughthe Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Then again, ifthe state recognizes the historical importance of this cemetery,shouldn’t Brookhaven and Lincoln County? Don’t we owe something toour forefathers? Maintaining their final resting places has beenleft to this generation.

Melancon will now take his request for an access road to theBrookhaven Board of Alderman. The cemetery is located near thepolice firing range, and the police department has been helpful inthe past in granting access to cemetery visitors.

We can’t predict the outcome of Melancon’s efforts, but weapplaud his campaign to maintain this part of Lincoln County’shistory for us all. We wish him well in this endeavor.