Cemetery commission cites decorative dangers

SAUGUS – The graves that line the northern end of Riverside Cemetery along Fiske Brook stand out from the rest with a plethora of lanterns, candles and large plants.J. Dennis Gould, chairman of the Saugus Cemetery Commission, is concerned that the overabundance of these items could pose a problem for his three employees. Although there have been no injuries so far, he said that anything that is plastic could be hit by a weedwhacker and potentially cause a serious safety hazard.”It becomes a projectile,” he said.Therefore, he said, plastic items are not permitted during the summer months.Gould said there are approximately 100 headstones at Riverside that have an excessive amount of decoration. He added that there are similar issues with a couple of the graves at the smaller Saugus Center Cemetery.Gould explained that the cemetery bylaws were revised in 2005 to give families more leniency as to what they could leave at a grave. The new bylaws, which Gould described as “pretty liberal,” established a rule that gave families 12 inches in front of the headstone to put various mementos.He said, however, that the number of decorations at the newer graves have gotten out of hand, exceeding the 12-inch rule over the last two to three years.”They just get carried away,” said Gould.In an effort to eradicate the problem, commission members tag those graves which have too many decorations. The tag lists the nature of the violation as well as the commission’s contact information. Gould said that after a tag has been left, the family has two weeks to rectify the problem.”We know they’ll be down there in the two-week period,” he said of frequent visitors.Gould also explained that the commission has not been as vigilant in monitoring the graves in recent years. However, he said that will change as tagging will be done on a regular basis moving forward.According to a press release provided by the commission, any items that are not claimed by Aug. 11 will be removed.A list of approved plants and bushes is available on the Saugus town website under the Cemetery Department link.