Seville cemetery rectifying placement of personal effects

SEVILLE — Families with loved ones buried at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens, 9560 Acme Rd., Seville, were recently surprised to discover items placed near gravestones had been removed and piled in a separate area. According to Hillcrest's chief operating officer Kirk Roberts, the site is now enforcing holiday cleanup rules that had not been part of day-to-day operating procedure for a number of years. However, he said that effort was supposed to include items being relocated in a more careful manner. "For a couple of years, our flower regulations weren't enforced as stringently as we would prefer," he said. "We did not discard them or throw them away but they were supposed to be put in a nice area. They were put in a not nice part of the cemetery and not piled in a neat way. We're talking about a few dozen arrangements, around 36." Starting Wednesday, crews will reorganize the items in the way that was originally intended, Roberts said. Pickups can be made anytime during open cemetery hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. That will take place near the cemetery's lower chapel. Roberts said items in question fall into a category separate from what's placed in brass vases attached to each grave site. "We hand out flower regulations to every family and typically post about any removals on Facebook," he said. "November 15 is our fall removal. Items in the vases will need to be removed and the vases will need to be stored in the memorial for the winter. What happened just now was our Labor Day cleanup. People bring out items for Labor Day and we remove the items outside of the vase 10 days later." The cemetery has been in contact with some residents affected by the cleanup. Roberts said he's not sure if any items have been damaged or if anyone has inquired about reimbursement. "This is really a one-off for us and we're working to make it right," he said. "It was poor judgement to place the flowers the way they were placed. People have already been coming today to pick things up. It just wasn't done neatly before." Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at 330-721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.