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The burial of indigent remains has become a rising issue in Washington County.

District 3 Commissioner Mike Dunlap said the numbers of deceased individuals without kin are growing. As a responsibility of the family, Commissioner Dunlap said he does not want people to think that they are going to cremate someone's loved one when they can clearly afford the services themselves.

Unless there is a legitimate need for assets, or no kin can be found, Commissioner Dunlap said they cannot do this for the public. He said they have had to go to a pauper's forum for these cases, and sometimes they have to be denied.

The Stumpff Funeral Home and Crematory has come to a point where they cannot continue this process and lose money. Additionally, Commissioner Dunlap said that this is not fair to the Crematory nor is it fair to the tax payers of Washington County when there are potentially funds available somewhere.

Another pauper's affidavit was presented to Commissioners on Tuesday. This time, it was rejected because the individual did not live in Washington County. The address listed on the affidavit was listed outside of the County's jurisdiction.

Moving forward, the Commissioners may have these situation handled by the Washington County Health Department. Commissioner Dunlap said on Tuesday that this is how Tulsa County handles indigent burials when they occur. The matter will be addressed by the Commissioners further in the days to come.