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Ferry seeking cemetery grass cutters

File Photo/SHELLEY HANSON TAKING a break, last summer, from their grass-cutting duties at Riverview Cemetery are, from left, Martins Ferry residents Logan Lovejoy; Tyus Harris (sitting on tractor); Preston Antill; and brothers Robert Brown and Chris Brown.

MARTINS FERRY — The Purple City is looking for a few good, part-time workers to help keep the Riverview Cemetery looking tidy this summer.

During a recent Martins Ferry City Council meeting, Councilman Ben Neiman pointed out the city needed to find more workers soon to keep the grass maintained at the cemetery.

He said it was looking unkempt in some sections, much to his chagrin and to the dismay of others who visit the site.

Council discussed previously that it needed to increase the pay of the grass cutters, as the work is very demanding.

The cemetery is 90 acres in size and is situated on a steep, terraced hill.

To attract more potential workers, council approved increasing the pay rate from $8.15 per hour, which is the Ohio minimum wage, to $10 per hour. The positions are part-time and seasonal.

Mayor Robert Krajnyak on Friday said he finally got two applicants for the jobs, but he intends to have at least four part-time seasonal grass cutters for the cemetery. Those interested in applying for the job can stop by the mayor’s office at the city building on Fifth Street to fill out an application.

“I would like to put at least four up there for the summer, and we plan on using a crew from the (Belmont Community Action Commission) — that would be great. We could stay ahead of it then,” he said.

Last summer, the CAC provided a crew of youth workers to cut the grass at the cemetery. The Belmont County CAC is a private organization that administers federal, state and locally funded programs. Founded in 1965 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, the CAC’s programs are related to employment, housing, education, health, nutrition, transportation, child care and income management. The CAC’s goal is to “alleviate the conditions of poverty in our county,” according to cacbelmont.org.

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