Cemetery won’t succeed without proper care

Published 4:31 pm Monday, December 13, 2010

We are responding as a longtime Buckley family to the recent article regarding Buckley cemetery cuts.

The cemetery should be a reflection of our community today and in the future. As residents who would like to be laid to rest in their home town, a 50 percent cut in the budget is concerning. The reason for revenue loss is because the cemetery grounds look unkept and untidy. How do you expect to gain revenue if you lack basic maintenance? The city did prepare a place for inurnment in 2009 in our cemetery called “The Ridge,” a place to spread and bury loved ones’ ashes to help with revenue. Unfortunately, anyone who might be considering this option would hesitate due to the current condition it is in. If this is the way of the future, this should be kept up like the traditional burial plots. Simple weed control and edging on a regular basis, not just for the holidays. If this is beyond the city budget, have all options been considered such as work-release programs, volunteer organizations, help from other departments, or turning over operations to a private party like the city of Enumclaw did?

As a resident who has loved ones there, picking a few weeds every now and then is no problem, unfortunately that is not the case.

Dick and Carol Rohner

Buckley