Connecticut

Grant Aims to Provide Maintenance for Neglected Cemeteries in Connecticut

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Governor Ned Lamont announced a new grant that will provide dozens of municipalities with money to maintain neglected burial grounds and cemeteries in the state.

The governor said 41 towns and cities in Connecticut will receive grants that total $5,000 under the state's Neglected Cemetery Account Grant Program, which is administered by the Office of Policy and Management.

The program was established in 2014 and is funded by revenue collected by the Department of Public Health from the issuance of death certificates.

The funding can be used to support basic maintenance of cemeteries including the clearing of weeds, briars and bushes, as well as mowing the ground's lawn areas. The grant can also be used to repairs the fences or walls, and straighten, repair and restore memorial stones, according to the governor's office.

“Cemeteries are sacred places, and maintaining them is essential out of respect for the dead and preserving our local heritage,” Lamont said. “Particularly here in Connecticut, we have some of the oldest and most historic cemeteries in the nation. These state grants will provide municipalities with financial support to ensure that the deceased are remembered in a respectful manner.”

The following towns have been selected to receive funding: Andover, Berlin, Bethany, Bethlehem, Bolton, Bristol, Canterbury, Chaplin, Columbia, Coventry, Cromwell, Darien, East Haddam, East Hartford, East Lyme, Eastford, Easton, Glastonbury, Granby, Greenwich, Griswold, Guilford, Haddam, Harwinton, Mansfield, Marlborough, Meriden, New Canaan, New London, New Milford, Newington, Newtown, Plymouth, Pomfret, Redding, Ridgefield, Salisbury, Southington, Stafford, Thompson and Tolland.

The grants will be given out after required contractual documents are completed.

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