DECATUR- During the July 8 city council meeting, Mayor Charles Linam reactivated the Decatur Cemetery Committee which has been dormant for several years. He also appointed three Decatur residents to serve on this committee.

A recent incident in which items were removed from the headstones during a cleanup project by city employees prompted the mayor to take this action.

Two Decatur residents, attending the council meeting, expressed their displeasure at the cleanup project, calling it “disrespectful to the families that have loved ones buried in the cemetery.”

Linam apologized to the residents, calling it a “miscommunication between he and city employees.” The mayor took full responsibility for this misunderstanding and expressed regret at not explaining fully to his workers.

The mayor ordered city workers to pull everything out of the dumpster from the cemetery and place items in the community room behind city hall for retrieval by family members.

Because of this incident, Linam called for a three-person committee to oversee the operation of Decatur Cemetery. He appointed Alderwomen Nan McClain, Jean Johnson and Terry Smith to serve on the committee.

Linam stated, “Nan will set up the meetings. We are going to set rules as to how the cemetery is operated. The rules will be recommended to the city council.”

The city council approved the reactivation of the Decatur Cemetery Committee and the three appointees.

With this committee, it is hoped that any future misunderstandings will be avoided. It will also help keep Decatur Cemetery looking clean and presentable to the public while respecting those at rest there.

News, Pages 4 on 07/24/2013