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Cemetery open again after January tornado

BAZETTA — Hillside Cemetery off West Main Street in Bazetta reopened its gates Friday afternoon — more than a month after it was hit by a EF-1 tornado.

Trustee Frank Parke said the cemetery had been closed since the Jan. 8 tornado hit northern Trumbull County. The opening was delayed, he said, due to a combination of bad weather and allowing the township time to clear roads around the cemetery.

Although reopened to allow relatives of the deceased to inspect the grave sites of family members, Parke is asking vehicles entering the cemetery to not park on the grass because the grounds is soft and saturated from the winter weather.

“We don’t want to further damage the grass,” Parke said.

The township is cleaning debris from large trees knocked down by the tornado, which had wind speeds between 95 mph and 100 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

“We had between 80 and 100 trees and bushes that were knocked down or damaged,” Parke said. “We had some very old trees in the cemetery.

A storage shed in the cemetery was destroyed. Most of the concrete block and wood from the shed was removed. The township still must reroute electric lines leading to the shed.

Shingles on the roof of the chapel were blown off and the township has replaced some drywall inside the chapel. A structural engineer will inspect the building to determine what must be done to ensure it is safe, according to Parke.

“We are still working to get estimates from our insurance company,” Parke said, adding the tornado did at least $150,000 in damage to the cemetery.

Parke said people who find their loved one’s headstones damaged or moved due to the tornado should call Robin at the township’s administration building at 330-637-8816 to report concerns. The administration building is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Parke said people should document their concerns by taking pictures of the grave and the area around it.

“Residents should not bring chain saws to help remove the trees,” Parke said. “It is the township’s job. We do not want anyone coming out here and getting hurt.”

rsmith@tribtoday.com

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