KERNVILLE, Calif. (KERO) — A cemetery that couldn’t perform funerals, that’s what the Kern River Valley cemetery was after they laid off three employees in late May. Now, they’re looking towards the future and hiring new staff.
- After the board of the Kern River Valley Cemetery District voted to fire the only three employees of the special district, the cemetery was unable to perform burials.
- On May 22 the Kern County Grand Jury released a report on the cemetery district which highlighted ongoing issues. On May 28 the board voted to fire all three employees who worked for the cemtery district.
- The operating budget of the cemetery is currently $216,000 annually.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A cemetery that couldn’t perform funerals, that’s what the Kern River Valley Cemetery was after they laid off three employees in late May. Now, they’re looking towards the future and hiring new staff.
“I wanted to see the legacy of all the hard work that has been done here to continue.”
Orion Sanders, the newly hired District Cemetery Manager for the Kern River Valley Cemetery, who was on the committee that helped establish Bakersfield National Cemetery, says that he took the position because the Kern River Valley Cemetery is close to his heart.
“I have a lot of loved ones buried here, not necessarily family but a lot of friends, I grew up here.”
The cemetery district has gone through some turmoil over the past couple of months. A Grand Jury Report released in May outlined issues at the cemetery district including a lack of transparency by the board, past-due financial audits, water issues, and a concern about nepotism regarding the three cemetery district employees. Those three employees were fired by the board of the cemetery district shortly after the report came out.
“There are challenges, there's challenges that have already been started and worked on, we’re going to tackle those and take care of them bullet point by bullet point.”
Sanders says that with his hiring and the hiring of a new secretary, the cemetery is again able to perform burials with the help of other resources from the county.
“The cemetery is open, the hours are 9 to 2 and you can talk to the secretary and talk to the staff and you can now leave a message.”
Previously, one man, Randy Kyt, functioned both as the cemetery manager and groundskeeper, but moving forward, that job has been split into two positions. The cemetery is currently looking to hire a full-time groundskeeper.
“The product of any cemetery is the beauty, this is what we’re selling, and so it is very key for us to have a full-time groundskeeper.”
Sander says there is a lot of work to be done, but is positive that solutions can be put in place to ensure the cemetery remains an important resource for the community.
“We certainly want to continue with the legacy of what they've established here, it's a beautiful place, and we want to continue with that, we want to continue to grow it and make sure that this is a great place for people to bury their loved ones."
There is still a vacant board position, those that are interested in applying can go to this website.
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