Colfax resident Charles Gray has been appointed to fill the vacant seat on the Colfax Cemetery District board of trustees.
Nominated by Placer County Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery, the Board of Supervisors appointed Gray to the board during Tuesday’s meeting.
Gray will join board members Helen Wayland and John Dugan. This will be the first time in three years that the board has had a full complement of trustees.
“That’s good news,” said Wayland when she learned of Gray’s appointment.
Given the recent controversy over the proposed sale of the historic Indian Cemetery, both Wayland and Dugan had stated they would not convene a trustees meeting until the long-vacant third seat was filled.
Wayland said that she is eager to have a trustees meeting, adding it was too early to know when that meeting would be scheduled.
She promised the meeting would be properly noticed so anyone interested could attend.
Gray brings years of local experience with the Historical Society, the Lions Club, the Chamber of Commerce, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Legion. He retired after 31 years with the United States Treasury Department.

Indian cemetery issue remains unresolved
In January, the district locked the gates to the Colfax Indian Cemetery because it had no liability insurance on the tiny cemetery.
Members of the Colfax-Todds Valley Consolidated Tribe were told they would have to buy the cemetery for $37,000 if they wanted regain access to their ancestral burial grounds.
Eventually, the district was forced to obtain insurance coverage and reopened the cemetery in time for Memorial Day observances.
The cemetery remains open on a month-to-month basis, but it remains for sale.
The 300-member Colfax-Todds Valley tribe, which is not federally recognized, wants to own the cemetery but cannot afford $37,000.
The United Auburn Indian Community has reportedly expressed interest in buying the cemetery, because some of their members are buried in Colfax. Rumors have ranged from the deal was already in escrow to simply under discussion.
Neither of the attorneys for the two tribes was available for comment this week.
“We haven’t heard a word about the negotiations,” Wayland said, adding that the trustees will now be able to begin asking questions about the proposed sale.
While Gray is familiar with the situation, he said he would like to do more research before deciding on whether the district should sell the cemetery or simply give it back to the tribe.