Newspaper

At one time, Marie Walker could look out the window during her break from work at Braums and locate her father's grave in Greenwood Cemetery.

It was easy. She would look for a windsock her family placed next to the grave and know just where Melvin Terbovich Jr. is resting.

"It gave me peace during the day," Walker said.

But those days have come to an end. The windsock, mounted on a shepherd's hook, has been removed. The family was told it had to be taken away.

Walker offered to pay for someone to drill a hole in the cement surrounding Terbovich's headstone for the pole. But she was told no. The hook had been in the cemetery since Terbovich was buried in 1989.

A cement bench near a few graves was removed. Cemetery staff said the bench was not within the rules and guidelines for decorations in the public cemetery.

"There was a woman who would sit there every day and talk to her husband," Walker said. "But they made her take it away."

In May, cemetery codes were updated, and part of the new codes required the removal of any adornments not meeting the regulations.

Walker and her sisters are upset. They decided to do something about the new rules, starting a petition drive in an effort to not only voice their opinions but let those in charge know they are not alone. At one point last week, they gathered more than 100 signatures in just one hour.

The petition seeks to change the cemetery rules and regulations, which have never allowed shepherd's hooks, benches or a host of other adornments at the graves. While copies of the regulations are available at the cemetery office, a statement also is included on the deed to each lot in the cemetery.

"We are doing nothing that is not mainstream cemetery management," said Tim Johnson, head of the Newton city planning and community development. "This is all about efficiency and good stewardship of tax funding. The cemetery funding is about two thirds tax funds. That allows us to keep user fees low."

For years, the cemetery sexton took a relaxed approach to the regulations, officials said. The cemetery continued to grow, with between 130 and 150 interments each year. Last year, because of changes in state funding to cities, the cemetery budget was cut. There are now only two full-time workers at Greenwood Cemetery, one of the largest public cemeteries in the state at 15,000 interments.

"We can no longer afford to not enforce (the rules and regulations)," Johnson said. "We are sorry for any inconvenience. ... Many of our employees have people interred at the cemetery, and they too must abide by the regulations."

The two cemetery staffers must mow the entire facility and do all routine maintenance work.

Planned maintenance and improvements in the near future are renovations to the office facility, reworking all cemetery roads and replacing dead and dying trees.

Staff has removed some adornments, but those have not been disposed of. They are in storage.

"We are not removing anything and throwing it away; we are holding it so they can pick it up," Johnson said. "They need to call cemetery staff, and they can come and pick it up."

While Peggy Terbovich is angry, she has brainstormed a solution -- one she is happy to share with anyone willing to listen.

"I think they should get the people out of the jail to come out here and weed-eat around the graves," Terbovich said. "They use those people to clean the highways; they can come here with them too."

A solution has yet to be found, but the sisters are not backing down from what may become a battle with city hall. They will keep collecting signatures and speaking with anyone interested.

"We pay taxes," said Tammy Smith of Newton. "We buy the lot. It is ours. And we are just talking about little markers."

To reclaim removed items or for more information on the cemetery rules and regulations, contact the cemetery office 284-6082. For more information on the petition, call Walker at 282-0542 or Carol Terbovich at 772-8416.