- Video shows Arvin residents expressing their concerns about the South Kern Cemetery's conditions.
- Members of the community says the cemetery needs to have better upkeep and have access to restrooms and water.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Enough is enough, that’s the message from community members who are asking the South Kern Cemetery near Arvin to improve it conditions. One example of this is the irrigation system that has dried out the grass in certain areas--but this isn't the only concern.
"I've been coming here for about its going to be 7 years already next month, and it's the same thing. It’s not being taken care of," said Susana Sierra Salazar a resident of Arvin.
She said she was born and raised in this city and stops by the cemetery regularly to visit her loved ones, but not just to pay her respects. "We have to come out here with our lawnmowers with our weed eaters, I don’t think we should have to do that," she stated.
Salazar says she is just one of the visitors who have watched the condition of the resting place deteriorate over the years. She also claims the cemetery’s irrigation system is ancient and has caused certain areas to retain water, which has impacted the trees.
"The trees rotted because it’s over saturated, and we have other areas where my friend’s loved ones are, and it was super dry. You walk on it and it’s crisp," Salazar explained.
But the grass conditions are not the only thing of concern to the community. Salvador Moreno says the cemetery lacks access to water, and visitors have to bring their own water to clean their loved one's graves.
"Sometimes if we need extra water, we’re trying to go to the small little containers or pipes they have right there, but they don’t work," said Moreno.
Salazar adds that the restrooms on site have been out of service for several months. Something she says is unacceptable given that it’s a key necessity when people come to a service or to visit a loved one. "Sometimes we want to have a celebration of life and you know, their yearly anniversary and it’s so embarrassing because it’s so it’s so dirty it’s so poorly maintained".
Another resident, Martha Flores, claims that management’s lack of care for the community and their loved ones is also an issue. She said she experienced this when she tried to address that her son’s plaque was shot at.
"I brought it up to their attention I asked to see the security cameras, and of course, I had to go through a process which I did, I had to file a police report on that, which I did do, but nothing was done," Flores stated.
Those we spoke with say that management attempted to have a meeting with the community to address their concerns but was later canceled and has yet to take place.
"We want to see it taken care of. We really do because if you pay the money that you pay to have your loved ones here—I know the private ones they keep it up, but there was no difference when I was a kid coming here and having services it looked beautiful," said Salazar.
23 ABC reached out to the cemetery's management for their comments on these claims but haven’t heard back at this time. Community members say they also want access to a board to be able to voice their concerns about the conditions.
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