Someone with strong ties to the community is raising concerns about the rules at the Smithers Cemetery.
Shannon Stacey said her family was once well-known in Smithers and made many contributions to the community.
Her great grandfather was Stanley Gould, who served for several years as a member of Smithers Village Commission (now called Town of Smithers council) and is buried in the Smithers cemetery.
Stacey said that while many of their family members have left the area, some still return to tend to the headstones of deceased loved ones, cleaning up their headstones and placing new artificial flowers on them.
This year, in mid-April her family came up to partake in the yearly tradition. There were six headstones in total that they attended that day taking great care to clean them and place new flowers costing almost $100 on them, including that of Gould. A month later, they returned to town to visit an ailing family member and while in Smithers, visited the cemetery again.
"How sad, disappointed and infuriated we were to discover the Town of Smithers removed the floral arrangements of all the headstones we had just placed a month ago," she wrote to The Interior News.
"I understand that the town has a bylaw allowing them to remove arrangements that are considered to be a detriment to the beauty of the cemetery, but these were new and in no way a detriment to the cemetery's beauty. We went and purchased new flowers and placed these new arrangements at a cost of $93."
She went on to write that while there, they noticed approximately a dozen garbage bags beside a maintenance shed full of flowers.
"How are these bags left beside the shed not a detriment to the beauty of the cemetery?" Stacey questioned. "My family and I noticed the bags are not tied closed and wind has blown some of it around. We did some rummaging and found some of the floral arrangements we had laid on our family's headstones a month ago. (And we took lots of pictures). I have never felt so disappointed in this town and their treatment of our loved one's resting place. Shame on you Town of Smithers."
Town of Smithers' Engagement and Communications Officer, Samantha LeBlanc said the town's operations and parks staff work hard to ensure the cemetery is well-maintained and accessible for all visitors, which does require regular mowing and upkeep.
"In accordance with Cemetery Bylaw No. 1565, cut flowers, wreaths, and floral offerings may be placed on graves. However, items may be removed if their condition is considered detrimental to the overall appearance of the cemetery or if they obstruct regular maintenance activities," she explained.
"This year, staff had to remove a number of arrangements and decorations that had not been maintained and were making upkeep difficult. To ensure families have the opportunity to retrieve any removed items, staff are temporarily storing them in garbage bags near the cemetery shed for a period of 14 days."
LeBlanc said the town understands how important these tributes are and are working on new signage at the cemetery entrance to clarify their maintenance protocols and inform visitors that items impeding regular maintenance will be removed and held for two weeks before disposal.
