Town counsel Judge James A. Halloran has ruled that repairs of monuments in Highland Cemetery which were desecrated a few weeks ago by vandals must be made at the expense of the grave owners and not of the town. The selectmen, nevertheless, have offered to act as an intermediary for the owners with a view toward keeping the expense to the grave owners at a minimum. In letters being sent to individual owners, the selectmen have included an estimate of a local monument company for the cost of repairing headstones or markers of each individual grave owner. The estimate includes only visible damage and proposed repairs will only cover such damage. The letter leaves the matter entirely up to the grave owner and he is in no way compelled to take advantage of the offered assistance if he feels he would rather have repairs made with another company.
It was ruled by the town counsel that since the monuments are the property of the grave owners, and since the damage was not caused through the negligence of any town employee or official that the town could not legally assume responsibility for repair expenses.
(All articles originally published in the Norwood Messenger)