Klamath Falls, Memorial Park, Oregon

By Kevin Burrows, assistatnt editor

At Klamath Memorial, the trees are trimmed throughout the year to prevent any danger from overgrowth. The crew also plants trees donated by families. Norway Maple, Mt. Ash, Ash, Siberian Elm, Aspen, Birch, English Hawthorne, Douglas Fir and Colorado Spruce are just some of the trees found on site.

Klamath Memorial Park is a perpetual care facility that was established in 1946 for the citizens of Klamath Falls, Ore. The growing city of about 20,000 is located about 15 miles from the California border and has a full view of Mt. Shasta. The City of Klamath Falls Cemetery Division has 32 acres of developed land and operates the public perpetual care cemetery Klamath Memorial Park (KMP) and the Linkville Pioneer Cemetery.

Recently two new niche gardens were installed in KMP to provide other internment options. The round black colored niche with the flags is a memorial area dedicated to Armed Forces and Emergency Services personnel to recognize their contributions to this country and to the Klamath Falls Basin.

Fertilization of the turf is performed by the crew every spring at Memorial Park to ensure a vibrant and healthy green color for all Memorial Day festiviteis.

Staff

Parks and Cemeteries Superintendent, John Bellon leads a small team of two crew members in maintaining the grounds at Klamath Falls. His extensive list of qualifications includes: Landscape Development degree; Certified Arborist, Oregon State Licensed Landscape Construction Professional, CTMI (Community Tree Management Institute) graduate; NRPA: Resource Management School; Oregon Community Trees (Oregon Department of Forestry advocacy) board member.

The staff is extremely dedicated and proud of their hard work with customer service as their top priority to serve families and those in need. They have also won the city?EUR??,,????'???s annual safety award for safest department on numerous occasions.

Local Veteran’s of Foreign Wars Post 1383 volunteers place the “Avenue of Flags” in Klamath Memorial Park on Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veteran’s Day in honor of those who served their Country.

Two Sites

The main focus of the grounds crew is Klamath Falls Memorial Park, the city?EUR??,,????'???s active perpetual care cemetery, which has 14 acres of treed turf, and 2,000 square feet of ornamental planter beds at the both sides of the main entrance.

The staff is also involved with Linkville Cemetery. Described by Bellon as ?EUR??,,????'??the City?EUR??,,????'???s Pioneer Cemetery,?EUR??,,????'?? it was established in 1869, and consists of 22 acres of tree-filled turf. Because it is not the town?EUR??,,????'???s primary place of internment, it is maintained at a low priority level. The crew works however, to care for the 8,000 square foot monument bed as well as shrubs and benches near the entrance.

The in-ground grave markers are trimmed twice annually, which in conjunction with roadway cleaning and number painting on curbs, allows for easy grave identification and location.

Turf

Both cemeteries have a perennial rye/bluegrass blend turf. Mowing occurs weekly at Memorial Park, followed by vacuuming of the turf to remove clippings. Annual broadleaf weed control is also performed on the turf.

Linkville, which is watered on a bi-monthly rotation, is mowed about every 4 weeks.

Fertilization/Chemicals

The crew fertilizes the turf annually at Memorial Park in the spring, typically in early May, ?EUR??,,????'??to bring on good color and vigor before Memorial Day visitations,?EUR??,,????'?? said Bellon. ?EUR??,,????'??We use Woodburn Fertilizer?EUR??,,????'???s Royal Green label fertilizer, 19-3-16.

Pre-emergents are used in both small planter beds, while broadleaf weed control is contracted out.

With 14 acres of turf at Klamath Falls, crew hours are supplemented by volunteer labor at the site. For example, Boy Scouts planted close to 30 trees across the park in 2005.

Budget

?EUR??,,????'??Most of our $370,000 budget goes to grounds maintenance needs and burial operations,?EUR??,,????'?? said Bellon. ?EUR??,,????'??Perhaps 5% finds its way in to actual landscaping maintenance of improvements.?EUR??,,????'??

Trees

The forest at Memorial Park includes Norway Maple, Mt. Ash, Ash, Siberian Elm, Aspen, Birch, English Hawthorne, Douglas Fir, Colorado Spruce; Linkville has predominantly Norway Maple, European Birch, Black Locust, Weeping Wilow, White Fir, Norway Spruce and Western Juniper.

In the fall, leaf clean-up is an enormous task. All maintenance must revolve around burials that occur throughout the year, which take top priority over any other issues that may arise.

Irrigation

Memorial?EUR??,,????'???s irrigation system draws from the Klamath River by pump, feeding eight automated zones and four manually operated zones. ?EUR??,,????'??We have older Rain Bird impact rotary sprinkler heads,?EUR??,,????'?? said Bellon. Linkville draws from the region?EUR??,,????'???s ?EUR??,,????'??A?EUR??,,????'?? irrigation canal, pumping water to twenty-seven manually operated zones. Again, large impact rotary heads are utilized.

Equipment

The team employs mowers of various sizes, from a 16-inch mower to a 72 inch riding mower. They also have two 22-inch walk-behind mowers, 3 string trimmers, one tow-behind vacuum, one small utility tractor, one backhoe, a 2 cubic yard dump truck, one utility vehicle with a dump bed, various trailers, 2 backpack blowers, one walk-behind blower, one tractor mounted blower, 2 snowplows and one walk-behind snow blower.

Minor maintenance and repairs of non-vehicle equipment are done by cemetery staff. All vehicles and large repairs of equipment, however, are performed by the City?EUR??,,????'???s Fleet Maintenance Division.

Located in the south central region of Oregon and bordering northern California, Klamath Falls sits on the southern shore of the Upper Klamath Lake, nestled on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains. The cemetery enjoys nearly 300 days of sunshine each year.

Special Projects

A number of projects have been completed in the last few years. For example, 30 trees were planted around the southern perimeter of Memorial Park by some Boy Scouts and staff in 2005. That same year, the crew also installed two decorative landscaped planter beds at the entrance, replacing a turf area. In addition, they installed two new columbaria niches at the interior of cemetery as well as a Veteran?EUR??,,????'???s memorial area. At Linkville Cemetery, the crew recently installed George Nurse (early pioneer and donator of cemetery property) Memorial planter and plaque area.

A recent addition at the park is this repository for veterans?EUR??,,????'??? remains. The project was supported by local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1383 to serve as a memorial for area residents who served overseas. The flags recognize each of the four armed services.

Challenges

The cemetery/parks division faces the same challenges of any public agency, namely funding. Oregon has no sales income tax and most hotel motel taxes are outside of the city limits. A recent levy failed and the parks department is looking for solutions.

The cemetery maintenance staff also must assist the Parks Division staff with projects and maintenance when needed.?EUR??,,????'??Preparation for Memorial Day presents our biggest push,?EUR??,,????'?? said Bellon. ?EUR??,,????'??And with our vast tree-scape at both cemeteries, pruning for clearance and safety presents a challenge.?EUR??,,????'??