Congress Authorizes 1.1 Acre For Arkansas Cemetery

It took five years and an act of Congress, but a small cemetery in Arkansas is on the way to adding one extra acre. The House of Representatives has approved a measure that allows the federally controlled property to be conveyed to New Hope Cemetery. The cemetery wants to expand the to accommodate relatives of those already buried there. The bill now awaits President Bush`s signature. The 100 year old cemetery, in northern Pope County, is surrounded by Ozark National Forest. Located north of Hector, it has more than 400 graves. With the new law, the association will be able to expand the burial ground by one point one acres. Joan Gross, a civics teacher and chairwoman for the association, campaigned for the project. She says her experience teaching civics taught her that working through the right government channels would allow the association to accomplish its goal. Now, Gross says there are members of Congress who don`t know much about Arkansas, but they know about the New Hope Cemetery.