Funeral home avoids foreclosure

LIMA - A local funeral home avoided foreclosure Thursday afternoon with the payment of $19,465 in taxes owed to Allen County.

Coleman Clark Jr., of Jones-Clark Funeral Home at 1302 Oakland Parkway, paid the taxes with a check around 12:30 p.m., according to Becky Bowsher, head cashier for the county.

Bowsher said Clark also paid cash for $306 in court costs associated with the county taking foreclosure measures and preparing for a potential sheriff's sale.

Clark declined comment; however, he went on to say he didn't understand why it was such a "big" issue that he was late paying.

"It's just something that hadn't been done yet," Clark said. "It's done now."

He also said he's been behind on his taxes like this three or four times before and he "paid it then."

The funeral home is not in any financial trouble, he said, and the mortgage is paid in full on the building.

Allen County Assistant Prosecutor David Bowers said the county filed for foreclosure, on behalf of the county Treasurer's Office, because of delinquent taxes that stretched back three to four years. The money, he said, is owed for delinquent taxes, assessments, sewer usage fees, interest and penalties.

County records show two mortgages for Clark: One from 1992 for $92,000 and the other from 2004 for $125,000; both are for the funeral home.