Local

'It used to be a beautiful place': Local woman frustrated with messy cemetery

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A local woman says the cemetery where her loved ones are buried is a mess and management will not call her back.

Action News Jax reporter Courtney Cole went to the Arlington Park Cemetery to get answers.

"It used to be a beautiful place and it has gone downhill in the past several years,” said Judy Rogers.

Rogers told Cole she buried her son, father and husband at Arlington Park Cemetery over the last 29 years.

She also showed Cole pictures of their plots, which have hardly any grass.

"The sprinklers haven't worked in years.They weren't planting grass and I finally got them to plant some grass, but it's dead because there's no sprinklers,” Rogers said.

Rogers told Cole the pond is also a problem. She said even though it’s brown now, it used to be solid green.

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Rogers told Action News Jax she just wants the place where she buried her loved ones to be managed better than it is right now.

"You have to tell them everything. They don't go out there and check anything, I guess,” Rogers said.

Cole tried to learn if the management has plans to fix  any of these issues any time soon.

John McNamara, a spokesperson for Arlington Park Cemetery, sent this statement:

"Arlington Memorial Park's mission is to help families memorialize every life with dignity, including providing and maintaining a tranquil and beautiful place for memorialization. We are aware of the maintenance matters raised, and acknowledge we have fallen short of our standards in some instances. We are working to address the issues, and we want to reassure our families and the local community that we are committed to serving them and their loved ones."

“I just lost my husband in February of '18. And not only am I having to deal with that, I'm having to deal with all this,” said Rogers.

Cole plans to follow up with the cemetery and Rogers over the next few weeks to make sure changes are made.

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