MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Homeowners in Raleigh are rallying against the idea of a cemetery near their neighborhood, along Raleigh Millington Road near Saint Elmo.
When some heard the owner of the property wants to put a cemetery there, they thought it was a joke. They say they’re afraid this will tear their community apart.
“Cemetery is not going to help our community,” Dempsey Sailes said.
Sailes is ready to protest if a cemetery is built near the Twin Lakes Subdivision where he lives.
“We really don’t want it, it’s going to lower property values,” he said.
If it’s approved, the cemetery would be less than half a mile away from Egypt-Elementary School, something that concerns councilman Bill Morrison.
“I don’t think it’s the right thing for that community and I don’t want our children walking to and from school in front of cemeteries five days a week during the school year,” he said.
The cemetery is Elaine Currie’s idea. She told WREG people want to be buried in their neighborhood, not somewhere else.
Homeowners say Currie should build the cemetery in her community, which is Atoka, then.
“We got a lot of problems in Twin Lakes, we’re trying to do the opposite as going down, we want to build it back up,” Sailes said.
People who live in Raleigh say a cemetery will only bring new problems to an area trying to clean up crime and blight.
The City Council will hear from the owner of the property next month at their council meeting about this topic.
