Totally OT, but I have to vent somewhere

I went to the cemetery the other day to visit the graves of my mom and dad since we had a rare bit of nice weather.

There's a gym that set up shop right near the entrance of the cemetery.

They actually have their members go out for runs through the cemetery with big weight bags on their shoulders. Usually in groups.

From other's I've talked to, I guess it's pretty busy in the cemetery now with people cross training.

I think one or two people walkng is acceptable. Jogging - ok, but a little less so. But if you're one or two people and you stay far away from visitors, ok.

But groups of people training hard - talking and laughing, grunting, sprinting. At least leave your )#($* shirt on.

I found it extremely disrespectful.

I ran into the gym owner on facebook and got into a bit of an argument about this.

Their view is that they have just as much right to be there as I do, and nobody should be annoyed by people just trying to stay fit. We basically left it agreeing to disagree.

Is it me? Am I just getting more crotchety as I age?

See if you can have them charged with disturbing the peace, or a reasonable expectation thereof. Maybe a lawyer should be asked.

Dignity and respect are getting to be a rare commodity.

i think it is dis-respectful also. a cemetery is not a health club. if they are there visiting loved ones, fine, but not to run around exercising.

NOt sure how your cemetary is set up but the one we use has a fence around it with a gate. So if people were doing that there it would not go over well!

I'm trying to imagine that going on at the cemetery my parents are in and I'm having a hard time feeling like I would be upset about it if they are on the roadways. I know my parents don't care.

Maybe it's a generational thing.

I can't even imagine doing that myself. I couldn't tell you exactly what's WRONG with it, but there's something in me that say's it's not right.

The face book argument grew and included a lot of opposing opinions of others. I noticed it was the younger set that seemed to think it was perfectly fine.

I mean, I guess they aren't hurting anybody - but ... I don't know.

I don't mind admitting I get a little teary eyed sometimes when I visit my parents there, they both died way too young with a lot left unsaid. But I don't feel like being on display when I'm a little emotional like that.

Guess that's my problem - but I just don't get why you'd even WANT to exercise next to somebody who's grieving, even if you do have a "right" to be there.

I don't know - there's probably no right or wrong answer - again I just had to vent.

File a complaint with the cemetery association, or whoever is the authority over the cemetery. Cemetaries are not meant to be recreational or commercial area. I doubt that most cemetery associations would permit them to use that area for that purpose. A few complaints may shut down the cemetery as an exercise field. I don't think that cemetaries are "public areas".

How is the zoning for the gym worded? You might want to check with your local zoning administrator.

In our county, one of fourteen points that must be met for zoning states, "Must be in harmony with the character of the area and most appropriate use of the land".

Another states, "The use will not be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity for the purpose already permitted".

I'd say the gym is "injurious to the use of other property in the immediate vicinity for the purpose already permitted".

It would seem the atmosphere created and established by the cemetery over the years would overrule the gym's activities.

IIRC,I've got a land title for my family's plots.Maybe they're trespassing!

That is just not right. Stan

Maybe it's not illegal but I think it's in very bad taste. Next thing we know they'll place it on the marathon course or having a bicycle competition there. Just cause there are nice low traffic maybe even paved roads does not mean they are there for public events. Someone needs to put the brakes on this sort of thing cause where will it go next.

Just watched the movie Jeremiah Johnson the other night. Reluctantly he led the cavalry troops through the Indian burial ground and it did not end well after that for him. We need to try and do our best to leave these places of rest as they were intended.

"The use will not be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity for the purpose already permitted"

Boy, I'm glad ours doesn't read that way! I have farmland with a lot carved out of the frontage that has a house on it. I tried to buy the house but a young couple fell in love with the view from the back window and bought it for more than I would give. I just put up a barn that pretty much put an end to that view and gave me back my privacy. Two neighbors complained about the barn...the young couple and (believe it or not) the guy across the road who sold me the land.

I don't think it would take much effort to get up a petition and take it to everyone who would listen...zoning, TV stations, etc. Make enough fuss and the gym owner will put an end to it.

Need a few zombies to rise up and chase them out of there.
Sure seems strange they would want to train there ?

JRSutton- A very similar question was brought up in Dear Abby a few years ago. Responses were about equal for both sides. I agree with you but it seems the younger generation looks at the cemetery as 'Park". Heck, some of them even said they would have picnics there. Both of my parents are dead. Last time I was there was to bury Mom beside Dad. To me, that is just an empty 'shell' buried in the ground.

How about this, That gym owner is charging people to run through the cemetery.
They pay dues to exercise at His facility and He sends them to the cemetery?


Steve A W

I thought the whole reason for a cemetery was remembrance, reflection, reverence, etc. Maybe these are the same people who want to set up a little memorial in lawns, fields, and roadsides in general, wherever someone died in a crash. That wouldn't be happening on my property, any more than jogging through any cemetery where I was on the board.

A cemetery is open to the public for business of the cemetery, and paying respect or doing genealogy research, but I would imagine that it is considered private property.

It is either owned by a church, cemetery association, or some other group. Maybe in some cases they are owned by cities, but none around here that I am aware of.

I don't think they can do what they are doing.

I would contact whoever owns the property and have a stop put to this.

I am the caretaker of a little local cemetery, it is owned by our family association. Private property. We can run anyone off we choose. Course they will come back and vandalize the place then. It's way out in the country. We have talked about putting up game cameras, but so far no issues

Gene

Who owns the cemetery?Are there any by-laws? If it bothers you, why not get involved with who ever oversees it.

hope they postpone for a graveside service.

Just another example of a generation that holds nothing sacred, respects no values, honors no tradition. This is one of those things that shouldn't require rules; no "regulations" should be necessary.

I'd take your issues to the owners of the cemetery. Are people actually running on the graves or just using the roads and perimeter of the yard?

The parish grade school I attended had the playgrounds and ball fields side by side to the parish cemetery. About once or twice a year someone would complain about a foot print or a ball track across a fresh grave, but that was about it. Recesses were rescheduled around cemetery rites. Grave preparation was scheduled outside of recess times. The upper grades sang as the choir for the funeral masses, it counted as a music class. The parish was not wealthy, we had to make compromises. The parish never voted to build a fence between the two areas.

My father is now buried in that cemetery, in a spot that he played on as the 7th & 8th grade boys ball field when he went to school there as a boy. The parish school is now closed, it merged with other parishes and moved to a larger town. When I visit the place is quieter and much lonelier now.

I see a lot of pros and cons. Just ask yourself " If it was Arlington National Cemetary" , would you think it was OK?

joe

They are young, foolish and immature and probably hold nothing to be sacred. They are being shaped by a culture that is obsessed with political correctness and sensitivity education, but are more calloused and self-centered as a result. Good luck getting any of them to see your side of it.

Like said below, it is private property and these people are his paying customers at a business using private property as part of a business activity. Call police on actual trespassers and zoning board on business owner. It will stop real fast.

When one "drops DEAD"......there you are. No neeeed to take you any where.

I don't get there very often, so I've only seen them that one time. I've heard from others that they're there all the time, and tend to go out in groups. They do usually stick to the roadways.

I'll insert a few pictures from the gym's web site so you can see what I'm talking about. It's not just "jogging" - most of them have these big weight packs on their shoulders, and there's lots of grunting and cheering each other on kind of stuff. Lots of noise.

I don't know who owns or manages the cemetery.

It bugs me, but probably not enough to go filing complaints, I don't have the time - we'll see how much it p#)(*#$ me off next time I'm there!

I guess I'm just surprised that people are comfortable doing that.

I'm standing there at my parents grave, with all sorts of tough thoughts going through my head, and here comes four guys running by me with their weight packs, talking away like I wasn't there. They were about 10 feet away from me, on the little road.

Not the end of the world, but it was a "do you MIND?" kinda moment. Just not the right place for that. PLENTY of sidewalks along all the roads in town they could use.











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I would sure be finding out who owns the cemetery and complaining to them.

Sounds to me like the gym owner is conducting business in the cemetery. People are paying money to exercise and he is having them do it outside his property. As others have said, I bet zoning would love to hear about this issue. If zoning thinks its no big deal, maybe mention your friend owns a bar close by and you are going to have an outdoor concert in the open field of the cemetery. When they say you cant, mention that the gym owner is doing the same thing so untill they shut him down, you are free to have a concert. They will mention the booze part of it but just say you thought of that, no booze will be sold there, the drunks can walk back to the bar to get a drink and they walk back for the music. They may even mention being too loud, just say its an unplugged concert thus very quite, at least no louder than people running, laughing and exercising. Then tell them you ran it by your lawyer already and he informed you that you would be doing nothing different than what is already going on and in that case, you will be forced to defend yourself in what could be a highly publicized case. Right then you should remove a notebook from your pocket and ask the persons full name and job title, then look at your watch and start wrighting (this part works very well and puts the fear of god in city employees).

If you play your hand well, no blinking, they will be out of the cemetery within a week. You wont be popular with the gym crowd or owner, but who cares. Remember, there is a huge difference in John Q Public taking a stroll in the cemetery because its safer/quieter than walking on the street to burn off that extra 5 pounds compaired to a gym owner conducting business in the cemetery. In fact it dont have to be a cemetery, ANY business operating in ANY way outside of its property will cause problems with permits and zoning. Here, we have conditional use permits that way if a business starts changing the way they do things, zoning just revokes the permit. Very powerful way of doing things.

FWIW, I dont have a problem with the people around here that walk the cemeterys. Its hardly ever more than pairs, they even whisper as they walk (usually because they are gossiping) and because they are there, the kids that like to kick over the stones tend to stay away. I do have a problem with what you discribed though; too many, too loud and too disrespectful. And the owner didnt help his own cause either argueing with you on facebook. Copy that facebook post, you may need it later. In my opinion, the owner just threw down the gauntlet by ganging up on you via facebook, I would pick up the gauntlet and beat him with it via zoning.

I would still work with the cemetery owners first. They are probably already well aware of the situation and they may or may not be OK with it. Without their support or if they oppose your request, the law or "government" can't do anything and nothing will change. Let the cemetery owners know your feelings and let them deal with it.

I agree with others that it is disrespectful. Our local LARGE Catholic cemetery has a sidewalk around its perimeter that I see joggers and walkers regularly use. But I never see them INSIDE the cemetery. Not to say that doesn't happen. When I do visit my relatives' graves there, I whisper and conduct myself with the respect that I believe is due that ground. I don't think you'll get anywhere one-on-one with the gym owner OR his clients. I'd go to the local government and complain. Likely that it could handled as a zoning issue as others have stated.

No , it is not you . They are disrespectful idiots.Tell them go run on the high school track where they pay taxes.