New restrictions limiting decorations at St. Hyacinth Cemetery have caused mixed emotions. While some who have loved ones buried there are angry over the new regulations, those in charge of maintaining the grounds are pleased with the new rules.

St. Anthony’s parish has adopted guidelines recommended by the Portland diocese that limit what can put on the graves. The diocese said the intention of the guidelines is to maintain the beauty and uniformity of a cemetery.

The regulations limit the size and locations of plantings, prohibit fencing, artificial flowers and lawn ornaments such as religious statues, and limit when flags can be placed in the cemetery.

“It’s just not right,” said Brenda Duncan, whose daughter is buried at St. Hyacinth Cemetery.

As her last wish, Duncan’s daughter told her siblings that she wanted a candle in front of her grave, said Duncan.

“My daughter isn’t here, and all there is left for me is to go there and put a candle and a pretty flower on her grave,” she said.

The guidelines are not new and not something that the diocese strictly enforces, they are just a set of suggestions, according to diocese spokeswoman Sue Bernard. She said the guidelines have been around since the 1990s for each parish to adopt at their preference.

Rev. Reggie Brissette, pastor of St. Anthony’s parish, said the reason for adopting the guidelines now is because the cemetery has gotten more and more cluttered over the years and having to work around decorations is more time-consuming during mowing.

“Over the years, our cemetery plots have become somewhat crowded with items ranging from statuettes to shepherd’s crooks, plastic flowers and vigil lights,” he said. “Strong winds either knock these materials over or blow them around, causing clutter over the grounds. We’ve also had problems with lights and other materials breaking.”

David Jacques, who maintains St. Hyacinth Cemetery on a part-time basis, agrees that things have gotten worse over the last few years.

“Compared to five or six years ago, there’s a lot more stuff here,” he said.

Jacques works for the Westbrook Public Services Department and moonlights as the cemetery superintendent during the week. “Some people think it’s great that they’re tightening the rules, and some don’t,” he said.

For Jacques, fewer items to work around mean an easier time for the workers mowing the cemetery. Also, he said the silk and plastic flowers could actually be a health hazard because weed whackers can catch them and throw splinters of plastic, which could hurt someone if they get hit. He said the candles could be a fire hazard if they blow over in the wind and, also, some people think they look odd.

“You ride by at night here, it looks funny because you’ve got blue lights and red lights and others,” he said.

Duncan disagrees, saying she visits the cemetery almost every day and hasn’t seen anything that would be considered distasteful. She said the “messiest” thing she’s seen is the grass in the cemetery being longer than it should.

With the changes, St. Hyacinth Cemetery rules are now much stricter than the rules at adjacent Woodlawn Cemetery, which is maintained by the city. The rules state that, along with decorations, no plantings are allowed near or around markers that are either raised or flush, such as the grave of Duncan’s daughter.

However, Jacques said he talked with Brissette and told him he didn’t think that was right, so flowers will be allowed next to markers as long as they’re close in against them and don’t cause any mowing problems. That doesn’t change the fact that Duncan still can’t place a candle there, but Jacques said some cemeteries are stricter than St. Hyacinth’s.

That doesn’t help Duncan though. “It’s too bad it’s come to this,” she said.

New regulations from the Portland diocese enacted by St. Anthony’s parish have limited what can by placed on graves at St. Hyacinth’s Cemetery.