Associated Press
— PHENIX CITY, Ala. (AP) — The cemetery chairman of an eastern Alabama town says several graves are in poor shape, and he's asked the City Council to consider what can be done to repair them.
Cecil Peterson Sr. says there are about 16 open graves in cemeteries in Phenix City.
The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports (http://bit.ly/IRMtyL) that at one cemetery, slabs atop graves are cracked open. The newspaper reports that similar conditions are found in Pine Grove Cemetery and Girard Cemetery, and in predominantly African-American cemeteries off Seale Road.
Peterson recently brought his concerns to the Phenix City Council. Mayor Sonny Coulter asked Councilman Arthur Sumbry and City Manager Wallace Hunter to confer on what course to take.
Peterson says that in nearby Columbus, Ga., the city and private foundations work together to maintain cemeteries.
