As mowing season begins, officials with Cookeville Department of Leisure Services are asking families to remove or reposition decorations at local cemeteries.
The two cemeteries that will begin to receive ground maintenance are Buck Cemetery and Cookeville City Cemetery. Leisure Services Director Chad McDonald said the annual notice is intended to give families time to secure or remove items before routine maintenance begins.
“We’re asking families to make sure that decorations on the gravesites of their loved ones are up off the ground before we start mowing and weed eating around those areas,” McDonald said. “It helps us and things that are left on the ground, we have to dispose of.”
Items left on the ground, including flowers, decorations, or seasonal displays, may be removed if they interfere with mowing operations. McDonald said the request is not due to ongoing issues, but rather part of a yearly effort to keep the cemeteries clean and safe for maintenance crews.
“This is just our annual notice,” McDonald said. “We’d like to give families the opportunity to do that before we do it, because there may be some sentimental items.”
McDonald said the community typically responds quickly once notices are issued. McDonald said families have till this weekend to remove items.
“I think the deadline is this weekend and most of it has already happened,” McDonald said. “But if you’re just now hearing this, we still have time.”
McDonald said most items are displaced from graves due to the weather. McDonald said decorations placed on headstones or built-in ledges can remain, as they do not interfere with maintenance.
“As long as they’re not on the ground… if it’s on top of the stone or on the ledge of the stone, that’s totally fine,” McDonald said.
McDonald said residents with questions or unique circumstances are encouraged to contact the department directly for guidance.
