October 13, 2008
- Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Blackfoot - Idaho
Policy on Cemetery Headstones
By Danielle Leigh
IDAHO FALLS- New information, on our exclusive cemetery story. Some families are upset with the local cemetery in Rigby for moving headstones.
Now we're taking action for you. We look at how other cemetery policies compare to the ones causing a stir in Rigby. A lawn mower is the main reason about 40 headstones in Rigby have new resting places. "They had dug up my sons headstone and lined it up with my daughters, and he's buried at her feet, and I didn't think that was right," says Jan Grover. In the process of moving the headstone belonging to Grover's son, the cemetery sexton also moved the headstone belonging to her daughter Jennifer. Not only were those headstones moved, one of them was actually placed on someone else's plot. "Which seems wrong to me that belongs to Jay and it shouldn't have been shared," says Alana Jensen. It's a situation the superintendent over the cemeteries in Idaho Falls tells me would never happen at Rose Hill or Fielding. "We've probably actually come into a couple areas where we have had to move them for maintenance reasons and put them right back, but we have a policy that we don't move headstones," says Superintendent Eddie Farrer. In areas where they can't fit a lawn mower, cemetery employees just use a weed wacker. In fact, Idaho Falls is purchasing lawn mowers with even smaller decks so they can better accommodate the headstones already in place. "We can actually do a little bit more work and cut out a lot of the weed eating by using a little bit smaller mower," says Farrer. Farrer tells me being accommodating has led to some problems. "Some of the trees that they plant if you plant the trees a little close to headstones they look good but over time the root is going to push that headstone up and make it look pretty bad," says Farrer. For the most part they leave the trees in place, and when they need to move them. Employees at the cemeteries in Idaho Falls always notify plot owners with a 30 day notice first. "Yes, I think that is the best way to do it," says Farrer. Cemetery employees did tell me its getting harder to find lawn mowers with small decks, but they're definitely still out there. |
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