Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
| By Courtney Llewellyn Reminder Assistant Editor WILBRAHAM The cemeteries in Wilbraham are an important part of the town's history. Adams' Cemetery dates back to almost three centuries ago. Keeping track of all those who lived and died in the town can be a difficult task which is why the Cemetery Commission stepped up their efforts to possess organizational software by approaching the Board of Selectmen. "We need to continue to keep critical records," Phil Hamer, treasurer of the Cemetery Commission, said. "There's more to it than that. We're ready to give up on our online cemetery project." He added the commission has spent thousands of hours over the past nine years gathering information for the project. "We're extremely frustrated and we're getting nowhere," Hamer stated. The push for the online cemetery project is vitally important to the commission because a state audit during the last fiscal year demanded that records be kept in a public place, like Town Hall, and not in the Cemetery Commission members' homes, where they are stored now. Almost all of the town's cemetery records are made manually, dating back 300 years. "We're looking for digital recording for safety and security," Hamer said. "Massachusetts General Law 114 says public records must be public." Peter Ablondi, a former cemetery commissioner, said the group does not have records or plot mapping online and it really needs to. "We're trying to make things easier for our clients," he explained. "A program like this is essential." Members of the Technology Committee sat with the Cemetery Commission to discuss the issue with the selectmen at their Dec. 10 meeting. The first meeting between the two groups took place several months ago. "These records definitely need to go into an electronic format," a spokesperson from the Technology Committee said. He added prices on software packages that would cover the Cemetery Commission's needs range from $99 to several thousand dollars. "The key thing to remember is what kind of support a package has," Ablondi told Reminder Publications. "Some of the cheaper packages the Technology Committee are recommending don't have any support. It would be like if you went to buy a car and after the purchase the dealership said 'Okay, now we never want to see you again.'" The groups agreed to coordinate on setting up meetings with companies offering different software packages. Ablondi said Hamer will be working on setting up these meetings within the next few months. In addition to the company presentations, demonstrative versions of many of the software packages are available as well, according to a member of the Technology Committee. "I would've liked to get this done yesterday," Ablondi said, "but our goal is to have it done in the next three months." Another goal is to find a program the town can afford and gain the Board of Selectmen's approval. "We as selectmen want to make sure you're given the tools to perform your elected duties," James Thompson, Board of Selectmen chair, said. "If we don't take a step forward now, we never will. We all have a desire to take that step." Selectman Patrick Brady added that a Board of Selectmen approval and a Technology Committee approval of a software package may make the Finance Committee more receptive to their requests. |