Signs in Hendry County cemetery give deadline to remove items from some gravesites

For reasons that aren’t yet clear, families are being told they have 30 days to remove precious mementos from loved ones’ gravesites at the Fort Denaud Cemetery in Hendry County.

WINK News called Hendry County multiple times but could not get in touch with County Maintenance Director Alan Bowan. His name is on the signs posted around the cemetery, telling people to remove fences, lights, and even benches.

The people with friends and family buried in the Fort Denaud Cemetery just want to feel like they are at peace.

“This was their last resting place, and it needs to remain that way, and nobody needs to come out here and do anything,” said Amber Hawkins.

Hawkins felt she had to go to the cemetery once she saw a Facebook post from Crista Cavanaugh letting people know about the signs from Hendry County.

“That’s disgusting,” Hawkins said. “That is because you’re talking about a sensitive subject.”

The gravesite of Cavanaugh’s 4-year-old daughter is decorated with flowers, dolls, pillars, and a bench. The latest decoration was the sign saying all these things had to be removed in a month. Cavanaugh decided the sign was the only thing that needed to go.

“Out of all the problems right now, this should be the least bit of their concern,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins had to see for herself if the gravesites of her son or her grandparents had been spared. Even though she had two solar lights on her son’s grave, no notice was posted. As many as 20 of the uninvited grave guidelines have popped up asking people to remove a number of special items.

“I do feel like the county—or whoever, whoever had the issue—they need to just take a step back and worry about something else,” Hawkins said.

Most of the signs seem to be in blocks A and B of the Fort Denaud Cemetery, though WINK found a few others scattered throughout. Crista Cavanaugh says the only rule she knew of when she laid her daughter to rest was not to plant any trees.