Two Battle Ground-area men, James Landon and incumbent Stephen Root, are vying for Position 3 on the board of commissioners for Clark County Cemetery District 6 this election.
The four cemeteries in the district are Crawford Cemetery east of Battle Ground, La Center Cemetery, Lewisville Cemetery across Highway 503 from Lewisville Park, and Highland Cemetery north of La Center.
Two-term commissioner Root, 88, is a retired educator who worked as assistant superintendent for Battle Ground Public Schools.
Root pointed to his history of service — he’s active in his church and has done mission work in India — and said his time with the cemetery district is an extension of those efforts.
He lives near one of the district’s four cemeteries, and many members of his and his wife’s families were buried there.
“We’ve been pretty involved in knowing how to maintain the cemeteries, keep them up,” he said.
He said he’s happy with the work the district has done as far as maintenance and improvements, and hopes to continue.
The district, at about 90 square miles, is the largest of the four cemetery districts in Clark County.
It includes a large portion of north Clark County west of Yacolt and northeast of La Center, along with parts of La Center and Battle Ground.
The district has a budget of about $103,000, commissioner Dale Venema said, and it employs two part-time workers and an administrative assistant.
The commissioners oversee the overall care and operation of the cemeteries. Commissioners are elected to six-year, overlapping terms, and they serve without compensation.
Most of its revenue comes from district property taxes, according to state audit records, along with interment rights sales, cemetery services and investment interest.
Landon, corporate fleet and lease manager for Vancouver Auto Group, said he became interested after a frustrating experience working with a private cemetery outside of the district to bury his mother-in-law.
“I was complaining about it, and I got to thinking if I’m going to complain about it I should probably step up and see what I can do to make things better,” said Landon, 43.
One of his larger goals would be offering more education opportunities about the district.
“These are the people that built our county, and I think they should be preserved and taken care of,” he said.
