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Thursday, March 27, 2014
City of Heflin
Exploring care for cemetery LAURA CAMPER
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The Heflin City Council is exploring how to care for its aging cemetery, much of which it doesn’t own. The Heflin Cemetery is showing its age. Scattered among the newer headstones, are markers darkened from age and dirt, many broken. The grave of Rev. William Jenkins who died in 1905 is marked with a large tower that has toppled off its base and rests in the grass. A rust-covered fence surrounds one plot its gate unusable. A holly bush growing on another grave ob-
scures the writing on much of the headstone. The top which is propped against the base announces the birth of John T. Penny on Oct. 11, 1857. The crack that broke the headstone destroyed the death date. The city council members are unsure how or even if they can go in and fix the stones. “Is it their property?” asked Councilman Shannon Roberts at the meeting Tuesday. “Is it our property?” Would the city have to publish that the plot is not maintained? Roberts asked. Would the city be responsible for putting back the headstones or replacing the headstones if it did publish a notice? he asked.
The city received the oldest part of the Heflin Cemetery from E.W. and Sarah Vaughan on May 17, 1924, according to a letter about the property transfer. However, many of the headstones predate the transfer, said City Clerk Shane Smith Wednesday. Roberts said the city built a new cemetery about 10 or 12 years ago because the old cemetery was running out of grave sites. The agreements for the new cemetery plots are deeds. They don’t contain any requirements about the care of the headstones or the property. The city mows the grass and takes care of the weeds, Smith said. The plots and the markers are owned by
the people who bought them and are their responsibility, he said. Joe McCarson, supervisor of the Edgemont Hillside Cemeteries in Anniston, said that is typical. At the Edgemont Cemeteries, the city mows and keeps down weeds, but the structures in the cemetery are cared for by the families, he said. “We don’t do anything with the stones because they’re not ours,” McCarson said. “Even the walls in the cemetery; I would like to go in and fix them but they’re not ours.” n See Cemetery page 7
Hollis VFD to hold fundraiser American Idol winner Taylor Hicks will be at the Rajun Cajun Festival
Laura Camper Hollis Fire Department members Dan Hopkins and Regina Cotton install a sign for the Rajun Cajun Festival with the help of Joey Laminack.
For news stories call Laura at 256.463.2872 +
Volunteer firefighters in Hollis are raising money to build a new fire station to replace the one they’ve used since the early 1970s. The department is organizing a Rajun Cajun Festival with Cajun food and music including Birmingham-native and American Idol winner Taylor Hicks on May 17. The Hollis department doesn’t own the station it currently uses, said Fire Chief Dan Hopkins. A.V. Young, a former department volunteer, leases the property to the firefighters, Hopkins said. The rent is cheap, $0, but the station is not in an ideal location. “By moving to a new location, we will enable Abel Community and the Five Points Community to be within the 5-mile district,” Hopkins said. If the communities are within 5 miles of the fire station, residents can benefit from the fire department’s Insurance Service Office rating, Hopkins said. The rating, based on the firefighters’ training, the station’s equipment, the water supply and the number of firefighters, is used by insurance companies to determine homeowner’s insurance rates. When the Hollis department went from its previous rating of 9 to its current 5, Hopkins said his premium dropped nearly in half. In addition, the station doesn’t have enough room to house all the equipment the department has, Hopkins said. The department bought 5.5 acres of property on U.S. 431 and Cleburne County Road 11 four years ago and in May, the firefighters will host the festival at Ross Mountain Adventures to raise money to start n See Hollis page 7
LAURA CAMPER
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April is Relay for Life Month in Heflin, the City Council declared at its meeting Tuesday evening. Relay for Life, a fundraising campaign of the American Cancer Society, kicked off in Cleburne County back in October. The community has been busy organizing fundraisers since then. Tracy Williamson, a member of the local fundraiser’s committee, said Cleburne County teams have raised $34,000 so far. This year’s goal is $72,000, Williamson said. “People in Cleburne really step up to the plate,” Mayor Rudy Rooks said. Sponsored banners will go up in town next week, said Heflin City Clerk Shane Smith. The city raised $2,300 with the banners, he said. “We’ve encouraged the businesses to decorate their buildings in purple,” Smith said. The culmination of this year’s fundraiser will be an overnight event on April 25 at the L.E. Bell Football Field at Cleburne County High School, Rooks said. In other business, the council members: — Heard the city is seeking proposals for mowing the grass at the city cemetery. It also is looking into using a growth inhibitor on the grass. However, the product wouldn’t slow the growth until next year, Smith said. — Discussed creating a plan to right fallen and tilting headstones at the cemetery. But some of the headstones are very old and brittle, Councilman Travis Crowe said. Councilman Shannon Roberts also asked if the city could go in and work on the grave sites or are they considered private property. Smith will check with the historical society for guidance on taking care of the markers, he said. — Heard the citywide cleanup will be Apr. 19-26. Two dumpn See Council page 7
INDEX: Opinion/Editorial . . . . . . 3 Church Sponsor . . . . . . . 6 Sports . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 4
April proclaimed Relay for Life month
Heflin Highlights. . . . . . 2 Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
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