Editorial—-The Coroner’s case for a morgue

Death and taxes have long been the only two certainties of life. It may well come to be, at some point in the future, Oconeeans will pay more to leave this world for the hereafter. In recent years, the coroner has begun to call for the establishment of a county morgue. At times, when it has become necessary to hold bodies before their release to the funeral homes, the coroner borrows the morgue at Oconee Medical Center. Here, he relies on the good nature of the local hospital, which is not part of county government and is run by a citizens’ association as a private-not-for-profit facility.

The 23 calls answered by the local coroner’s office during two and a half weeks along with the possibility of a tragedy that takes the lives of several Oconeeans all at once are food for thought that, at some point, an Oconee County morgue, with the capability of holding multiple bodies, might not be such an outlandish idea after all.

That’s our view. What’s yours?