To the editor:

Thank you, Caroline McCune, for opening the ugly can of worms about the way our loved ones are lying among a weed patch also known as Hillcrest Cemetery. (Public Forum: “Cleanup Crew Should Have Been Supervised,” Great Bend Tribune opinion page, Nov. 14).

My husband has been buried there for 13 years. Year after year I have taken my own weed eater to clean up around our headstone. I had also talked to County Works Director Darren Williams, who oversees Hillcrest Cemetery. Darren told me that the Evening Lions Club was to clean up the cemetery “but got carried away” and removed all the flowers in the vases. I asked him why the cemetery has not been weed-eated? He replied that the guy that is contracted to mow has not weed-eated.

It is a shame that our loved ones’ final resting place has been taken care of in this manor, year after year. Maybe all of us “not so happy loved ones” need to show up to the County Commissioners meeting and show our disgust of how these cemeteries are taken care of and we want a change.

Kim Baird

Great Bend

(Editor’s note: This letter was edited to correct names. We have included a response on this page from Darren Williams. The club president was also given an opportunity to respond.)