NEWARK, Ohio — There is a battle over what can be placed around gravestones at a city-owned cemetery in Newark.
Cedar Hill is now enforcing a policy that only allows artificial decorations during winter months.
“I never thought 7 1/2 years later, I'd have to fight for a night light for her,” said Loren Barber, whose daughter Jaime is buried at Cedar Hill.
Jaime was shot and killed in 2015. Barber fought to make sure the man who shot her was locked up for decades.
Never did he think he would have to fight over her final resting place.
“Everybody grieves differently. I can't imagine leaving her out here,” Barber said.
Signs at the cemetery’s entrance state people cannot have artificial decorations after April 1, which is when crews start mowing.
While this rule has been in place for decades, it hasn’t been enforced until now.
“The policy that was put in place over 50 years ago and has not been enforced, it has caused major issues and safety concerns,” said new cemetery superintendent Chance Patznick during a recent Newark City Council meeting. “In order to maintain the safety in the most respectable way, I do need to enforce the decoration policy.”
During a city council meeting Monday night, many packed the room asking for a compromise.
Many argued some of the decorations had already been removed and thrown in the trash, though city leaders say those decorations blew away during recent windstorms.
President Don Ellington says the city is simply trying to take better care of the cemetery and decorations are hard to mow around.
The city agreed not to enforce the rule for 30 days, but all Barber wants is a compromise. He wants 8 inches in front of his daughter's headstone to leave mementos.
“I don't think we should have to beg and go to this extreme,” Barber said.
10TV reached out to Ellington, Patznick and Mayor Jeff Hall for an interview but all declined. Hall did say the city is working on a new website to better communicate with families.