Once a year the Batavia Union Cemetery board meets in a joint meeting with Batavia Village Council and Batavia Township Trustees. The board met Tuesday, Feb. 2 at the community center in Batavia Township.

An overview of the cemetery board finances was presented by Steve Shinkle, clerk/secretary of the cemetery board. He noted that the cemetery fund was $250 in the red in 2008, but since implementing a new program, the fund is now more than $6,000 to the good.

“We have started a new program,” said Shinkle. “We now require families to put down a headstone deposit and we give them six months to get a headstone in place.”