[VAcourier] HERITAGE ALERT - Save Oakwood Letter Campaign

[Virginia Division SCV Communication List]

Save Oakwood Letter Campaign

Most of you are aware of the successes and efforts the SCV has made 
towards honoring the seventeen thousand Confederate soldiers who lie 
buried at Oakwood in Richmond, Virginia.  We have even begun the work of 
restoring the cemetery.  However, we have one unresolved roadblock.  
Although the state and federal governments are cooperating with the plan 
to mark all the unmarked graves at Oakwood, the City of Richmond has 
imposed a DISCRIMINATORY practice of not allowing the installation of 
upright markers for the Confederate graves only.  The city hides behind 
an unwritten and yet unproduced "policy" against it or states that it 
will not be historically accurate to mark the graves despite the fact 
that the Virginia Dept. of Historic Resources has approved the plan.  
The SCV plan would not only make the cemetery more respectable, it would 
save the city $30,000 or more in maintenance costs a year, as the SCV 
will use its own funds and already appropriated state funds (based on a 
figure from the dept. of parks and recreation).  The plan is a win-win 
for everyone involved.  The city will save thousands of dollars, keep 
ownership of the cemetery, and have a beautified tourist attraction 
while the SCV fulfills its mission of honoring these fallen soldiers.  
 From what we have learned, bureaucrats in the mayor's office are trying 
their best to make sure these graves are never marked.  Beyond that, 
these same bureaucrats have failed to protect the cemetery from vandalism. 

See the TV report on the Oakwood plan and vandalism at:  
http://www.nbc12.com/news/state/8213902.html

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Please send a well written letter or email to the main Richmond paper 
and copy it to the mayor's office questioning why the city has refused 
to allow Oakwood to be restored.  Mayor Wilder is a Korean combat 
veteran himself and he should understand the importance of honoring our 
deceased military veterans.  Be sure to emphasize the positive benefits 
of the plan to Richmond such as the tax savings and increased tourism 
opportunities.  (Contact information is below)

Richmond Times-Dispatch (the capital's leading newspaper)
Email letters to the editor:   letters at timesdispatch.com
Submit by Fax (include signature): (804) 819-1216.
Letters to the Editor
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Box 85333
Richmond, Virginia 23293
(tips on submissions can be viewed at: 
http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/opinion/submit_letters.html)

Mayor's Office
Mayor L. Douglas Wilder
email:    askthemayor at ci.richmond.va.us
or:         wilderld at ci.richmond.va.us
fax:  804-646-7987
phone:  804-646-7970
900 E. Broad St.
Room 201
Richmond, VA 23219

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