6 days ago
Overgrown weeds choking Oahu graves: ‘I can not find him'
PEARL CITY, Hawaii (KHON2) — A Pearl City cemetery overtaken by weeds and trespassers is getting some help.
The man leading the cleanup hopes to restore dignity to Sunset Memorial Park.
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Parts of Sunset Memorial Park in Pearl City have fallen into unbearable disrepair — overgrown, vandalized and no longer recognizable for some families.
'I can not find him now, you know? You get bushes, bushes on top of him,' said Beverly Mariano, whose baby brother has been buried at Sunset Memorial for decades.
The Friends of Sunset Memorial will host a beautification project to clear overgrown brush and remove dumped trash from the sacred grounds. The community cleanup will take place at 7 a.m. on May 31. The cemetery president said he is hopeful there will not be any more issues in the mausoleum.
Friends for Sunset Memorial Park president Larry Veray said police removed squatters off the property on May 21. He even found three urns that were stolen and stashed by one individual.'And I really believe that the squatter that's been in the cemetery, he's been breaking the doors out and pulling the urns out. And that's where he's selling them, from there,' Veray said. 'And shame on recyclers and anybody that would take urns that have nameplates. All those three urns, nameplates were taken off but one, it was engraved in there.'
Veray is in the process of installing a security camera system and said there is now a zero tolerance policy.
'Nobody is going to squat anymore into the cemetery and spend the night and no drug activity or loitering. I'm going to be monitoring this, and I can enforce it. And the other thing is, I got volunteers are going to help me enforce it,' he said.
Any progress means a lot for families like Mariano's.
'Get plenty people, you know? I don't care what nationality you are, but I fighting for everybody. For me, my brother's here, yeah. But I'm fighting for you,' she said.
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The public is invited to attend the cleanup, it is expected to go until 11 a.m. on May 31.
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