Douglas Cemetery Commission votes to remove trees growing on burial plots

DOUGLAS — October 10, 2025 — Douglas Center Cemetery Commission votes to remove trees from burial plots. Meeting on-site at Douglas Center Cemetery on October 10, two of the three commissioners — with member Lee absent — voted 2-0 to remove five trees, including one unidentified species and three ornamental dogwoods, that had been planted on top of burial plots with no record in the commission's official plot markers. Two dead trees had already been taken down before the meeting; a contractor will be needed for the three living ornamental dogwoods. The commission flagged that tree growth has shifted plot markers in a newly developed section of the cemetery, and one commissioner said she would contact the firm Hanlon and Guayere to obtain a re-plotting quote. Members also noted a cracked pad beneath a screen-house grave marker requiring further evaluation, and reported that roughly 72 percent of residents contacted in a donation outreach effort indicated they would contribute to cemetery care.