(Host) There are over 19-hundred cemeteries in Vermont and they’re run almost entirely by volunteers.
Secretary of State Deb Markowitz says she learned from the Vermont Cemetery Association that those volunteers needed a training resource.
(Markowitz) "Like many of our volunteer boards, they’re really scrambling right now. The volunteers are generally referred to as cemeterians. And as our cemeterians age and become residents of the cemeteries they’re overseeing, there’s a need for new people."
(Host) Markowitz says that the public could also benefit from a little help navigating the complicated set of burial and cemetery laws. So her office has released a new booklet designed to do just that.
Markowitz says the laws help protect public health and safety by making sure proper burial procedures are observed.
(Markowitz) "They’re also designed to protect the people who are buried there and their family members, their loved ones, people who’ve bought lots in a cemetery or plots in a mausoleum to protect them into the future because the idea is that even after you’re gone a long time that cemetery or monument will be kept up."
(Host) The booklet titled "Digging Deep: Unearthing the Mysteries of Burial and Cemetery Law" is available at the Secretary of State’s web site.
AP Photo/Toby Talbot