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Local cemetery asking for donations to purchase needed upgrades

Courtesy of the Sugar Salem Moody Cemetery Board
SUGAR CITY — Established in the year 1900, the Sugar City Moody Cemetery is a piece of history that predates the charter of the city itself.
For over a century, it has been the final resting place for many residents of Sugar City and it will continue to be so into the future. Today, however, cemetery officials say they are having problems with the upkeep of the grounds and they need some help to replace aging equipment and facilities.
Joyce Cromar, along with the rest of the Sugar City Moody Cemetery board, are asking the public to help pay for necessary upgrades, including a brand new water pump. The pump is for the onsite irrigation well. The powerlines that connect to the pump also need to be replaced. Additionally, the cemetery needs a new shed to store their equipment and eventually new sprinkler pipes, among other things.
The costs are estimated to be up to $51,000, which is the amount the board is hoping to have donated.
The cemetery budget comes from county taxes, and by law, they aren’t allowed to raise that budget more than 3% a year, get loans, or go into debt because they are a non-profit. They are also not allowed to hold fundraising events, set up GoFundMe pages, or anything of the sort other than simply asking the public to send in donations.
“We have asked the county for help, but commissioners directed us to seek other means of support first,” the board said in a letter. “We have nowhere to turn but to you citizens and businesses.”
They have applied and received multiple grants in the past, but due to the financial effects of COVID-19, they were not able to qualify for any additional grants this year. After 50 years with the same irrigation pump, it is now beyond repair, and a new one is needed to take proper care of the land.

Joyce Cromar, secretary for the board, stuffing over 1000 envelopes to raise money for the cemetery | Courtesy of the Sugar Salem Moody Cemetery Board
To Cromar, it’s about respecting the people and the families that have ties to the cemetery.
“If (anyone) has a loved one in any cemetery, and they went to visit that loved one in any cemetery and all of the sudden it was overrun with weeds, that would bother them tremendously,” she told EastIdahoNews.com. “I know, within my heart, I don’t want my family in a bunch of weeds.”
To properly maintain the land, the board needs to raise the money for the improvements before the end of May.
The donations, which are tax-deductible can be deposited through or mailed (through a check) to Key Bank at 110 E. Main Street, Rexburg, Idaho 83440. They can also be dropped off or sent to Sugar Salem Moody Cemetery, 10 Jaxon Drive, Sugar City, Idaho, 83448. Checks should be made out to Sugar Salem Moody Cemetery with ‘for pump’ written in the note.
“Donations don’t have to be a huge amount of money. They can be whatever people can afford,” Cromar added. “They can donate $1 dollar if they want. The amount does not matter. Every little bit helps.
The post Local cemetery asking for donations to purchase needed upgrades appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com

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