Family Members Upset After Area Cemetery Full Of Overgrown Grass, Lacks Care

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - People whose loves ones are buried at a local cemetery are upset. They say the caretakers are not doing their job and that high grass and weeds are taking over the gravesites.

Believe it or not, the hillside of high grass is part of a cemetery.

"It's horrible," said Lanoma Stein, whose parents are buried in Riverview Memorial Park. "It's absolutely terrible. My parents deserve more respect than this. I don't have words, it bothers me so much, I just want to sit here and cry for every one of my visits."

Stein says it has been an ongoing battle for months and she has heard a lot of excuses why. Her father was buried at the cemetery in 2008 and her mother in 2014.

"I'm here every two weeks. This is not three weeks of uncut grass, this has been here quite awhile. It's been a constant fight since we buried my mother."

There is also the family cemetery for June and Jewel Hopson. Their parents are buried at Riverview Memorial Park, along with several aunts and cousins. The grass is not quite as high where they are buried, but the area is not well manicured.

They say it was not always bad, but something changed.

"We can understand why somebody who has just buried here would be upset because it does look bad," said Jewel Hopson.

But right now it looks more like a wheatfield than a cemetery. The owners admit they have gotten behind and they blame the weather.

The owners also say they have a new piece of equipment and promise to have this manicured by Friday.