Proposed VA cemetery development near Salem draws pushback from politicians, neighbors
Dozens of locals, politicians and legislative staffers came to the Salem Public Library Thursday, April 30, largely to register opposition as U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs officials gave their first public presentation about plans to build a new veterans cemetery on 307 acres of farmland southeast of Salem.
VA officials gave two presentations about the project. Each drew a crowd of over 60 people, with the vast majority being neighbors to the site of the…
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I appreciate SR covering this story. It’s a complex issue that brings to a head the competing needs for active farming, housing, water, quality of life and honoring veterans after they’re gone. We live in complex times. Thanks Haley for going to and reporting on this meeting.
As a combat veteran I am totally against turning 307 acres of productive farmland into a cemetery. A better plan would be to build a large mausoleum on one acre that could contain far more remains than what is proposed.
I am one of the closest houses to the proposed cemetery location. The biggest issue for us neighbors is the availability of water. Since water use at the vineyard is metered, it is a matter of public knowledge. The vineyard has been using much less water than they are permitted to use – about 10%, yet even so wells in the area are running dry. If the cemetery were to make use of all the water allotted for irrigation, what would be the effect on the ground water? The Certificate of Water Right issued by the county states that if the water level declines significantly, the well must be shut off. If that happens, what would the VA do? They have stated that they will be able to get a permit to create a water retention pond, but it would need to be quite large and each autumn it would be reduced to a giant mud puddle, hardly an attractive landscape feature. I am in favor of a veterans’ cemetery in Marion County, just not here.