by R.J. Sanchez

That's a somewhat modified version of something someone once said. I think they were trying to characterize how difficult it is to be all things to all people.

Nevertheless, that is the expectation many people have when it comes to receiving service. It seems that no matter how hard you try there will always be someone who didn't know, wasn't informed, failed to take notice, wants an exception to the rule, feels ignored, can't wait , doesn't care about anyone else's problem, goes directly to the top, and the list goes on and on....
In all cases, however, we still need to keep trying our best. We have to listen, to be compassionate, to inform, to be understanding, to educate, to explain and to act. The sign above is an example of how we are trying to provide service. Look to see these signs posted in almost every corner of the cemetery at various times throughout the coming months. Landscape maintenance is a huge undertaking under ideal conditions but when it includes acre upon acre and hundreds of illegal plantings of bushes, plants and trees it becomes a nightmare.
Being allowed to plant in this cemetery is an exception and not the norm. Over the years, people either failed to get permission or simply planted and forgot. By failing to respect the rules or even inquiring about what can be done these people have made our task more difficult. Everyone wants to have a nice looking area but not everyone has the time to devote to it. So what starts out as a nice gesture to remember a loved one ends up being another task we must handle. It has a domino effect in that in order to take care of unauthorized activities other maintenance must sometimes be placed on hold.
We need to keep up the maintenance throughout the cemetery and will continue to take our responsibility seriously. Along with the removal of plants and bushes we have about forty trees (dead or diseased) that need to be removed and replaced. We have plans in motion and priorities are set but as with all things - we have to remain flexible and sometimes the unforeseen brings about delays. With that in mind, we will not be accepting any more requests for any kind of planting until such time as we have effected repairs to sites within our cemetery. As always, we welcome your input. Our hope is that by keeping you informed about the what and why we are doing things you will come to understand how much we believe in serving those who have been laid to rest in our grounds.