07.29.10
Posted in cemetery consulting, cemetery management, cemetery news, news alerts at 4:47 pm by Administrator
When the original story about Arlington broke, we warned that the number 231 was far off what it was going to be at the end of the day. Now, they report the number has reached 6,600 and it will rise again-you can be sure of it. This based on the manner in which they perform their burials at a rate of 30 per day. We’ve said it before and it bears repeating: You cannot put a non cemeterian in charge of the most notable, largest, and busiest cemetery in the country and expect anything less than exactly what is happening! Cemeteries are not easy to operate and nobody has any business involving themselves with no background in the profession. For the Department of the Army to appoint this man was absolutely ludicrous. To put Higginbotham in charge of millions of dollars of vendor contracts for computerization of records in a cemetery of that magnitude, with also having no experience in the profession was the double whammy! We have heard reports of a range of $5.5mil to $11mil for that computerization, and to date they are still using 3×5 index cards to document. This has to be the most embarrassing situation we have ever heard of, and we have heard of many. And now you have to suspect the contracts for computerization with Higginbotham pleading the fifth. We may never know the full story on this one.
We have offered our help many times to various agencies, including Senators and former Senators, and nobody knows who is directing this effort or who to contact. CemOps has the expertise to correct and teach the methods necessary to insure this doesn’t perpetuate itself at Arlington. It is obvious it isn’t what you know but who you know, to get into such a project. Fixing this situation isn’t going to happen overnight or be corrected at all, if they don’t lean on the appropriate expertise. Their refusal to acknowledge this while they hold Congressional hearings and position themselves politically will only make this worse. And in the meantime, what have they put in place to stop the bleeding from this? Are they continuing to bury in Section 27? If so, they are daily perpetuating the problems. And with Metzler being over this mess for 19 years, I can only imagine how far it truly goes. It’s a shame, and those involved in this mess get to retire and ride off into the sunset unscathed. Unbelievable!
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06.11.10
Posted in Uncategorized, cemetery consulting, cemetery management, cemetery news, news alerts at 10:26 am by Administrator
As many times as we have said it, managing and operating a cemetery can be a complex task especially if you don’t hold the expertise necessary or at least have a professional mentor to show you the way. We at CemOps have been fortunate over the years to have the latter, putting us in a position to enjoy the expertise after years of mentoring. Considering the number of problems now apparent at Arlington, and you must consider a lack of professional training or expertise on the part of past management. The Secretary of the Army has stated he finds no grounds for criminal considerations, which is most likely correct. Nobody sets out to bury 230 war heroes in the wrong place, or on top of one another, there just wouldnt’ be anything to gain personally by doing so. There is no money changing hands at a national cemetery, which precludes greed or other criminal actions from occuring. No, this is a simple case of the wrong person being put in charge of the most heralded cemetery in our country. There are perhaps a handful of folks with the appropriate credentials in this country to properly manage such a cemetery, which begs the question of the selection process when the former manager was hired.
Now, they say there may be more trouble and have ordered a thorough investigation. Now the real tough questions: 1) Who will perform this investigation, and what expertise do they possess to insure this investigation is in fact thorough? 2) Will this investigation take place as an independent one, with absolutely no interference from federal sources? 3)Who has the appropriate expertise to effect change beyond the investigation and put in place policy and procedures to insure this cannot occur in the future? 4) What is in place now, to allow for corrections later without disturbing an inordinate number of burials, in essence perpetuating a problem already in existence?
CemOps has many more questions than answers at this point in time. We hope to have meaningful conversations in the near term to answer some of these and hopefully be invited on the ground to assist. Our nations war dead deserve better. Their families deserve better. We have the right to expect more of the folks we entrust our national burial grounds to.
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03.27.10
Posted in Green burials, cemetery awareness, cemetery news, news alerts at 11:52 am by Administrator
Per my title of this post, I am speaking to my personal (not professional) dislikes toward green burials. My first question is: Is this a fad, or is it here to stay? My second question here is: Do the families that are having this marketed to them understand the difference between green and traditional burial? ALL the differences?
To answer the first question: Green burials are great if you are into getting back to the old ways of performing burials. No casket expense, no vault expense, no memorial expense because in a true green burial space no memorial is allowed. This for a burial business means little or no streams of revenue to keep the cemetery profitable and in business. In 20 years, when the business is no longer solvent what happens to those burials? Who looks after the properties and maintains any record of those burials? I offer this as a brain teaser to this question: Many pioneer cemeteries and other old non marked cemeteries are disturbed annually with new road construction, new housing developments, etc. etc. I see this as a repeat of those same issues, 50 or 100 years from now. So for those who preach green, I want to know how they intend to protect the sanctity of these “new” green burial places for generations to come? Or, does that matter?
I just read an article out of the Midwest about a green burial cemetery that was just approved. I noticed a local funeral director had spoken about “green embalming fluids”, and unless something new has come about; I have never heard of such a thing. Embalming is one of the items taken off the list of expenses with a green burial. I want to know where these “green embalming fluids” are being purchased. If they exist, it sure isn’t industry wide knowledge. The funeral directors I know have heard nothing about these either and I have asked. I also have found no reference to this in industry trade magazines. I have seen the new biodegradeable wicker looking baskets for burial and other items of that nature, but nothing relative to green fluids for embalming. I’ll look again, but if such a thing exists someone post a comment on this and let me know where to look this up.
For my second question, and this will surely upset the green folks, but if this was MY family being buried I would want to know: If I am not allowed the option of a casket, or a burial vault, what happens to my loved ones body when the burial is complete and a couple of tons of dirt are dumped on their body? This is a viable question, considering I buried my Dad, Grandmother, and Grandfather some years back and would not care for the visual this gives me. Personally, I like the idea that my loved ones weren’t crushed by the weight of the dirt during backfill. That gives ME peace of mind. And unless I have completely missed something, I remember the entire reason for the ceremony or funeral is for the living, not the dead, which means I have to remember what – when the time comes for me to make those decisions again?
I am not prepared to speak professionally about how this green movement will play out. I, like many, have more questions than answers. As long as I have questions, I will continue to lean on the side of traditional.
I am open for debate on this topic, and as I have shared in this article I am not expressing professional opinion/s on this matter. I am curious and apprehensive, and have many questions. I am concerned that families are not getting the complete story when they are being given this as an option. For now, I call it a fad. Only time will tell whether I was full of it or not.
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