Baker City Asks Residents to Clear Mt. Hope Cemetery Gravesites for April Cleanup

The City of Baker City is asking anyone who visits Mt. Hope Cemetery to clear decorative items from gravesites before April 6, when the cemetery's annual spring cleanup begins and grounds crews start collecting anything left behind.

The removal window runs from April 6 through April 20. Flowers, floral arrangements, and other decorations placed back on gravesites before April 21 risk being gathered by HnT Lawn Care, Inc., the city's cemetery maintenance contractor responsible for performing the cleanup.

The reason for the request is practical: decorations left at grave spaces prevent HnT Lawn Care from completing the full range of spring maintenance tasks. According to a City of Baker City public notice, those tasks include thatching, edging, fertilizing, and spraying weeds, with work subject to weather conditions. Clearing the grounds entirely allows the contractor to work as thoroughly as possible across every grave space.

Items not removed by the April 6 deadline will be collected by the contractor. Based on the city's published procedures from the previous year's cleanup, decorative items in good condition are stored until claimed, while perishable or deteriorated items are removed from the grounds permanently. Families who want to retrieve collected items should contact the City of Baker City Public Works Department at (541) 524-2047 or (541) 524-2046. The department is located at 1655 1st Street in Baker City.

Beginning April 21, residents may place items back on gravesites, provided those items conform to Mt. Hope Cemetery rules. A copy of those rules is posted on the city's website at bakercity.com.

City Hall can also be reached for general questions about the cleanup schedule and what items are permitted under cemetery guidelines.