Despite misgivings over finances from one town official, the Davenport commission introduced an ordinance to take over the Evergreen Cemetery. The city was asked to assume control of the cemetery because members of the cemetery association are aging and no longer up to the task of maintenance and operations.
Officials posed a hypothetical dilemma to neighbors: Would you rather have a cemetery next door or a housing development? Already, Riverside Cemetery is limted to Courtland residents, but buying another 8 acres would alleviate space concerns for now.
There have been a couple of hearings on this matter, but I've yet to find out whether a final decision has been reached on erecting a cell-phone tower in a cemetery in Scotch Plains, New Jersey.
Officials bought local soccer fields in 1995, knowing that someday they'd need to be turned into some 11,000 cemetery plots, but that day is coming soon.
Officials in Montgomery, Alabama, say they will pursue criminal charges against the owners of a neglected African-American cemetery - once they find out who owns it. This is an update on an item we reported here earlier.
Though I have no doubts that this goes on, it's a first for me to find it. A cemetery in Washington State did a redesign of some of its grounds, and added a new "water feature."
"Show me your cemeteries, and I will tell you what kind of people you have." -- Benjamin Franklin
Where do we go when we die? This blog explores the places where cemeteries and land use intersect, and examines what urban planners and thinkers, communities and others are doing (and not doing) about cemeteries.
You can find a companion site at Facebook, and I'm tweeting about these subjects at Twitter, at @TaphoFiles.
You can read more about this blog at the Welcome post.
I am a retired journalist and adjunct professor of journalism. I studied GIS, and I have blogged about cemeteries and land use, urban issues, and honey. All views expressed are those of the author alone.