Lafourche to use bid process to award new jail contracts
July 18, 2012CRIME BLOTTER: Reported offenses around the Tri-parishes
July 18, 2012
Misspelled signage and loose trash resulting from stolen trash cans were brought to the Terrebonne Parish Council’s attention during its regular meeting last Wednesday.
Cemetery-preservation advocate Lucretia McBride presented digital photos and notified government leaders about debris, including weathered and decaying flowers and two grave markers, placed under a tree and around a sign that reads, “Please put discarded flowers in proper receptacles out of respect for others.”
“There are no ‘proper receptacles’ located in the cemetery, so trash is left to pile up around this tree,” McBride said. “These headstones are protected by state statutes and should not be in the trash heap.”
McBride’s concerns regarding signage at the burial area included a misspelling of the word cemetery, which was posted “cemetary.” “It was a little surreal to see this misspelled right next to the library,” she said. “I wondered, ‘What village idiot approved that before they put it up?’”
Terrebonne Parish Planning and Zoning Director Patrick Gordon said immediate action was taken regarding McBride’s concerns. “We have called the contractors [Blouin Fence] about this misspelling,” Gordon said Thursday morning. “They will be changing it.”
Gordon said that a permit to install the fence had the word cemetery spelled correctly. “Any error evidently took place sometime after permits were signed and the sign was installed,” he said.
Regarding debris under a tree, Gordon said, after investigating the situation, in which he found that two trash receptacles had been stolen from the property, he believed a groundskeeper cleaning the area placed otherwise scattered debris in the location where it was found.
The grave markers, Gordon said, had possibly fallen over and were leaned against the tree for safe keeping. Families of the deceased are responsible for the individual maintenance of markers and vaults.
Southdown Cemetery, named after the plantation of the same moniker, was signed over to Terrebonne Parish on Aug. 28, 2001. The parish is responsible for mowing and general cleaning of the property.
During June, the American Sugar Cane League donated a fence and gate to designate the cemetery boundary and as an esthetic enhancement for the area just west of the library.
“We made property contribution to the cemetery and paid for the fence,” ASCL General Manager Jim Simon said. “Southdown Plantation has been an important part in the [crop] research history of sugar production in Louisiana. I’m sure our contractor will take care of [the fence issue].”
“Cemeteries are considered by most cultures to be sacred spaces,” McBride said. “In addition to being resting places for our dead, our Terrebonne cemeteries are … significant examples of our architecture … as well as containing the history of the communities.”
Terrebonne Parish is also responsible for general maintenance of Bisland Cemetery in Montegut and Halfway Cemetery near Gray.
Southdown Cemetery, located next to the Terrebonne Parish Public Library, is outlined by a new fence and gate donated by the American Sugar Cane League and displaying an embarrassing spelling error. Parish and league officials say immediate steps have been taken to correct the signage.
