Cedar Fort committee schedules April 29 cemetery service day, weighs firefighter support for maintenance

The Cedar Fort Cemetery Committee set a community service day for Wednesday, April 29, to trim and clean cemetery grounds and asked staff to recruit youth volunteers and town residents to assist.

At the Feb. 2 meeting, Sexton Harry Draper and other members described maintenance needs across the cemetery, including dead pine trees that should be removed and brush to be disced back from fence lines to reduce fire fuel. Draper said the town's new fire chief and department offered to help with volunteer maintenance; the committee also discussed paying crews for heavier work and obtaining bids for spraying and seasonal weed control.

Committee members agreed to aim for a start time of 4:00 p.m. on April 29 so volunteers can work through the evening; the chair said she would coordinate outreach and, if needed, include a notice with town mailings. Members also discussed limits on external wildfire‑mitigation hour reimbursements and the need to avoid damaging markers while moving rocks and doing cleanup work.

Harry Draper, the sexton, noted mapped discrepancies and stressed that heavy work on rock or marker areas should be done under supervision so existing markers are not disturbed. The committee directed staff to gather bids for spraying and to coordinate with volunteers and firefighting personnel for safe, supervised work on the property.