Empty liquor bottles, bullets, and Porta-Potties aren’t allowed on or near gravesites at the Santa Maria Cemetery. You’re not allowed to drink alcohol or have a barbecue there either.
While that may sound like common sense, it apparently is not common knowledge—according to the Santa Maria Cemetery District, which posted a long PDF on its website responding to what it called “‘noise’ surrounding the … cemetery.”
“In addition to the objectionable activity surrounding the cemetery, there has been a definite increase in the number of unauthorized flowers/decorations on the cemetery grounds,” the PDF stated.
What exactly are “unauthorized flowers/decorations”? See “Rule and Regulations” on the cemetery website:
“All flowers must be kept within the cement border of the headstone.”
“Maximum height limit of 2 foot for decorations.”
“No graveside markers or monuments be installed by the public.”
I can’t believe that the cemetery is so fed up with “unauthorized” mementos cluttering up its gravesites, that the district has taken to throwing out things like personalized crosses, American flags, and rocks with inspirational words on them—which don’t appear to be on the “no” list posted on the cemetery’s website.
Families are pissed, they feel targeted, and I don’t blame them.
“I had a lot of problems with things disappearing; I thought it was the public, but it’s not the public, it’s [the manager],” said Connie Branquinho, whose son passed away in 2021.
She believes her problems started when the district’s current manager, Ron Jacobs, took over last June. And Branquinho’s not the only one complaining about items disappearing and disparaging treatment.
Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino chalks up a lot of the issues to communication problems. People don’t necessarily understand the rules and regulations at the cemetery, and the enforcement of those regulations hasn’t been as respectful as it should be, Lavagnino said. But it sounds like Jacobs might be a little overzealous in his enforcement, cleaning up items that shouldn’t necessarily be cleaned up.
District board Chair Lee Diaz said they’ve spoken with Jacobs, who denied the allegations.
“There’s been strange things dealing with him,” Diaz said. “He may have a little trouble working with people, [but] he’s trying. He’s new at it, and it’s only be on for seven months.”
The regulations, Diaz said, have been in place since 2010, so why is it such a big deal all of a sudden? Maybe if the board gave the public more than five minutes to speak during the March 14 meeting’s public comment period, it would have an answer.
A cemetery district employee told us there’s so much chaos at work that he almost can’t handle it: “It’s a place where we need to have some kind of compassion, and it starts with the employees.”
Sounds like at least one district employee—the manager—might need to work on the compassionate part of managing a cemetery. And the board might want actually govern the cemetery, which means hearing out the public and responding to its concerns.
The Canary is overzealous with punditry. Send comments to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 7-14, 2022.