Oh Richardson will you PIPE down and quit crying "You don't know David Satterwhite?" I don't have to know him to know he is indeed one sick demented twisted son of a bitch that would even think of enforcing this type of ordinance.

Now you want to charge the families of the deceased a fee to put back decorations when they need to be moved for grass cutting? Woman, you are a crazed old bat and so is your brother!!!!!!!!!!

In response to rrichardson I agree that Mr. Satterwwhite was very respectful of me and my family when I lost my daughter and he even held two spots next to her for me and my husband until we could get the money to purchase them and for that I thank him.

My problem is not "limiting" what I can put out there, but rather that those items belong to my angel Charleigh and they are HERS not the city's. The original article read that items deemed excessive would be removed without question. NO one has the right to remove my daughter's belongings that me and my family have placed there as a memorial and dispose of them as THEY deem neccessary. If there are actual rules in place then yes we will abide by them, but we should be given the opprotunity to comply with the rules before anyone goes snatching things off of graves.

Furthermore, my baby's grave site is deeded to my husband and me. Not you, the city, nor anyone else. It is not yours nor the city's property. As far as upkeep of the site, me and my family regularly weed, water the sod and her plants, change out the arrangements, we also make sure to weigh down anything that could possibly tip over and her items fit snugly to the stone.

I pray that the city does the respectful thing and listens to the citizens. As I stated before if there are rules adopted I will comply but the city needs to remember these are our loved ones. That is my baby's memorial that I still cry for every day, next to her is someone's mother, father, brother, sister and so forth. You can't make the rules so strict that you restrict or infringe on our right to grieve and remember them.

Hopefully I will see you all at the meeting on Tuesday.

First of all, Mr. Waller, you don't know David Satterwhite or what his job duties include. Your statement that "doesn't ever see tax-paying human beings in his work" is completely false. He meets with the families after their loss to assist in the plot selection and burial process. So, before you start condeming a person, know the facts.

The are two main issues here: maintenance (cutting the grass) and appearance of the cemetaries.

Everyone expects the cemetary grass to be cut and well maintained, but it is impossble to cut the grass with so many decorations on the grave. Do the families want to be responsible for the maintenance of the grave? or be charged a fee for the additonal work of moving and putting back the extra decorations?

The appearance of the cemetary is the second issue. What is too much? If there are no regulations, someone could erect an 8 foot snowman because their loved one enjoyed Christmas, or put a car grill on a grave because someone loved their car.

There is no easy answer to these issues, but the cemetaries are City property and must be maintained and have a respectable appearance.

Does anyone know if there will be a public hearing or vote on this and if so when? I cried myself to sleep the night I first read the article. My baby is out there along with HER special things. They are HER angels, pigs, and flowers NOT the city's.

As I sit here and type I cry not just because of my pain but for Amanda whose precious angel's stone was used to represent that article. I can only imagine how you must feel, I could only imagine if they had used my angel Charleigh's stone.

I am so sorry Amanda, I feel your pain of losing your baby girl. I am sure Charleigh and Suzannah are watching over us now from heaven and they will give us our strength to get through this.

If anyone knows about a vote please let me know, my email is blhines77@yahoo.com. I need to be there to speak for my child when she can't.

The same question I posed in an earlier post, "who owns the plot"? If I BUY it from the city is it not mine? The mayor made it sound like citizens are cheating the city out of money for wanting to bury two coffins in the same plot, and in another sentence talks about limited space remaining. What better way to maximize the space? Now they will probably say "hey thats a good idea, let's charge double for those!" and double the price if you want two coffins in one pllot....doesn't cost them anything more and makes more money for the city!

Like I said earlier there is an election coming up, hold them accountable!

I think that there is a biiig difference between simply decorating a grave site such as the one on the front page, and the faded, overturned and blown away artificial flowers that litter the cemetary.

What someone puts on the grave of a loved one should not matter to anyone else. It isn't meant to be a magazine spread, but the place where the remains of our families and friends rest.

I would whole-heartedly support an effort to keep the cemetary tidy, as far as making it manditory to remove faded or dead flowers, and to keep decorations from blowing away or looking slovenly. Those things lend an air of gloom to what is really a nice area.

But as far as what one is allowed to put on a grave site, do people own those sites, or does the city?

I completely agree I am the mother of the childs headstone that was placed on the front of the paper and yes it makes me and her twin sister that is suffering from a terminal illness herself feel better when we decorate Suzannahs headstone thank you for your thoughts to the Editor there are so many things I want to say to them at the paper myself I just do not have the words that would be able to be seem by the public. Tahnk you so nuch. Amanda