PADUCAH (WSIL) -- A Paducah woman says she is encouraged by the city's response after she brought attention to a lack of maintenance in the Oak Grove Cemetery.
After a visit to her grandmother's grave in late July, Eritrea McCorry-Cooper says she was sadden by the sight of overgrowth, broken headstones, and visible neglect.
She says her emotions pushed her to act, and she did.
Cooper took to Facebook, called the city, and organized a cleaning party.
She bought a weed eater, gas and cleaning supplies and met with a small group of volunteers at the cemetery Saturday afternoon.
"We were prepared to do some weed eating on our own," she said, adding that to the group's surprise, the mowing was already completed. "Luckily we did not have to use (the tools), because the City had stepped up, and done a lot of work."
Within a week, she says her efforts paid off. She asked the City to work with her on setting achievable goals with the first request, to see progress by the first of August. Now with the mowing complete, she says there is still much to do and working together with realistic goals, Oak Grove will improve over time.
"Because it's going to take, collectively, everyone. And it's not going to be overnight, it's gonna take months, it's possibly going to take years, for these things to get back to what we would consider a normal cemetery looking like."
"Because it's going to take, collectively, everyone," said Cooper. "And it's not going to be overnight ... it's gonna take months, it's possibly going to take years for these things to get back to what we would consider a normal cemetery looking like."
Crews from the City were waiting for her group Saturday, and together, they cleaned as many headstones as time allowed. She says by working together she is hopeful they can bring life back to where their loved ones are.
McCory-Cooper is organizing a group called, Operation Oak Grove. The group will serve as a way for community members to work alongside the City in caring for the cemetery. The group plans to have future cleaning parties, and she is calling for more volunteers to get involved and support their community.
The group plans to set up a Facebook page, and will tag with updates.
