Princeton City Council took action Monday night to stop spraying herbicides in two of the historic sections of Cedar Hill Cemetery.
The action came after the council heard concerns and solutions from Cedar Hill Cemetery Historian Carolyn Traum, Luther Carneyhan of West Kentucky Memorials of Princeton, and Maggie Gammon of the Caldwell County Genealogy Society.
Traum said the issue of herbicides causing damage to the most fragile headstones in the Pioneer and the oldest African-American sections of the cemetery — as well as erosion at the grave sites – has been brought before City Council in the past with no action taken.
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Carneyhan then explained that herbicides are detrimental to the headstones and grave sites.
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The council then heard from Gammon who presented some solutions to address the issues in these two sections of the cemetery.
click to download audioShe added that the damage being done to our ancestors’ final resting place is heartbreaking, and asked the City Council to take some kind of action to help preserve these historic sections of the cemetery.
click to download audioA crowd made up of local residents was also on hand at the meeting to show their support for this effort.
After some questions and comments from council members, Councilman Carl Copeland made a motion to stop spraying for weeds in the Pioneer and oldest African-American sections of Cedar Hill Cemetery. The motion was unanimously approved with council members Brian Conger and Shelia Gates, and City Attorney Todd Wetzel absent from the meeting.
After the meeting, Traum told Your News Edge she was happy with the action taken by the City Council.
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She said the next step will be organizing some volunteers to help with this effort.
click to download audioIn other action, the City Council unanimously approved a recommendation from Mayor Brock Thomas to accept a bit from Waste Path Services, LLC for residential and commercial trash services in the City of Princeton.
