Recently my father passed away and, while making arrangements, I learned that the Elmwood Cemetery has a problem — lack of money.
The Elmwood Cemetery Association has a small trust fund that does not provide enough interest money to keep the cemetery regularly mowed, to say nothing about other maintenance requirements.
I recently read an article in the June 2013 Maine Townsman. It went in depth on how more and more cemeteries are under the care of towns and cities, so their perpetual care is, at least in part, being paid each year by the taxpayers of each community.
Many cemeteries fail to make it on their own and even if they are not town-controlled at present, they likely will be in the near future. That is the case in Otisfield for many of the cemeteries there.
However, Elmwood Cemetery on Rayville Road is not one of those cemeteries that receives taxpayer money for its perpetual care. That doesn’t mean the need is any less.
The care of departed loved ones depends on the living. Members of the cemetery association should be commended for their efforts, but they need lots more help, of any kind.
Stephen Robinson, Poland
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