City considering cameras to protect historic cemetery, graves

Published 4:17 pm Monday, March 15, 2021

Complaints involving problems at Cedar Hill Cemetery are prompting city officials to consider installing video cameras in the city-owned cemetery.

“People are desecrating the cemetery,” Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said. “They’re driving cars over the graves and everything. It’s all over the cemetery. Some folks are over-decorating them in violation of the city ordinance, but mostly it’s desecration.”

Flaggs said the city’s plan is to install a camera system would not only allow police and other officials to monitor the cemetery but also allow people to view the grave of a relative on their computer and order a plot for themselves.

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“You can either pick a site and we’ll know or you can look at the grave of a loved one or one you want to order,” he said. “Go on the computer to pick out a plot and used the automated system to order it.”

Built in 1838, Cedar Hill is one of the oldest active cemeteries in the United States.

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

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