Mayor: City won't put notes on graves again

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by Amanda Harnocz

Reporter

Tallmadge -- "It was an insensitive thing to do," Mayor Christopher Grimm said. "It won't happen again."

About 40 notes reminding people of the rules and regulations of Tallmadge City Cemetery were taped to gravestones last week by the street department, said Public Service Director Dave Kline.

Kline said the service department put postings on sites that were in violation of the cemetery rules.

But Grimm told the service department Oct. 4 to remove the postings from the gravestones after the family of Alyssa Calaway, an 8-year-old buried in Tallmadge Cemetery in 2002, saw the note on Alyssa's gravestone and objected to city officials.

Posting the rules on select headstones in the cemetery was insensitive, said Sarah Calaway, Alyssa's mother.

Alyssa's site was in violation of the amount of items and how spread out some items were, but have since been fixed, said Kline.

Posting informational notes on headstones wasn't a very sensitive or effective way of communicating with families, Grimm agreed.

Every fall and spring the city crews clean up parts of the city, including tidying up the cemetery, Kline said. Although such notes have not been posted in the past, the street department thought it would be courteous to notify people that if any of the rules weren't followed, the crews were going to remove certain objects or plantings, he said.

"[The idea] wasn't thought out very well," said Grimm during City Council's Oct. 6 meeting.

"I appreciate the apology," said Mrs. Calaway. But she said she believes rule enforcement information should be sent to families "via the mail with a letter or even a notice in the paper or on the community sign on Tallmadge Circle."

"In the future, we plan to send out a mailing to notify families about fall or spring cleanup," Kline said.

Grimm said even though the way people were notified may have been "inappropriate," the regulations have remained the same for nearly 20 years.

"Rules are posted on the right-hand side of the cemetery as you are entering," he said, adding, "Rules are necessary to keep the cemetery looking nice."

Kline said any bushes or objects protruding past the allowed distances on grave sites will be removed so that cemetery grounds may be maintained and so decorations do not encroach onto other graves.

The allowable distance to plant and/or decorate by the marker is 2 1/2 feet in front of the stone and 4 feet wide across the plot, said Grimm.

No glass containers are allowed in the cemetery either, he added.

Alyssa's "spot," as her family calls it, will remain almost the same and will be cleaned up a little as they always do in the fall, said Calaway. "We will continue to visit often to make sure her site is maintained and in order."

Those who'd like a printed copy of Tallmadge Cemetery rules should visit the service department in City Hall.

E-mail: aharnocz@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3911