West Hill Cemetery slated for clean up

Published 10:56 pm Friday, May 14, 2010

City crews will begin cleaning up Dalton’s West Hill Cemetery on Monday, removing any decorations, including unauthorized benches and fences, that don’t conform to cemetery rules.

City officials have been planning this move since February, after several citizens spoke out about the appearance of the cemetery at a public meeting.

Several people have already cleared the graves of loved ones, but City Councilman Dick Lowrey says many graves haven’t been cleaned up and he’s worried people haven’t gotten the message.

“We walked through the cemetery (Thursday). There are still a lot of things over there that I think may have some personal significance to someone, and they may want to get before they get started on the cleanup,” Lowrey said. “We are going to be using a small crew, so it’s probably going to take us some time. But I don’t know where we will start first. People don’t necessarily have to come get those things immediately. If they call public works and tell them they will come by and pick things up, I’m sure they’ll try to work with them.”

Lowrey said public works will also keep items they pick up for 30 to 60 days, so people can claim the items later.

“Most of these rules have been on the books for a long time. We just haven’t been enforcing them. Some people may not know that we are going to start enforcing them, and some people may not think we are serious about enforcing them, but once we start, I’m sure word will get out,” he said.

Lowrey said the rules are just about how the cemetery looks.

“A lot of these items are glass or plastic and could be dangerous, especially when the crews are in there mowing,” he said.

For more information on the cemetery rules and plans to clean it up, call public works at (706) 278-7077.