Mantua gives the OK for Memorial Day, but cleanup will have to wait

Mantua Township is going ahead with Memorial Day services led by Mantua American Legion Post 193. The ceremony at West Lawn Cemetery’s flagpole will feature a speaker or reader, the Crestwood High School Band, the playing of “Taps” and a 21-gun salute, coordinator Ray Corbett said.

The ceremony will start at 11 a.m. May 31 and is expected to last about 20 minutes.

Cleanup and maintenance 

There will be no spring cleanup in Mantua Township this year as trustees are taking Covid concerns seriously. Knowing that cleanups are manpower-intensive operations, trustees could not bring themselves to place workers in danger unless absolutely necessary.

“We’re going to look at the situation in the fall and maybe have a fall cleanup,” Trustee Matt Benner said.

Trustees are calling on township residents to clean up West Lawn Cemetery grave sites by April 23 so the annual mowing program can proceed. Residents are asked to remove old flowers, plantings, vases or other adornments.

West Lawn’s two roads will also get an upgrade, with chip and seal work set to begin soon.

Meeting protocol

Trustees continue to hold virtual meetings but hope to return to in-person meetings by May 20. They will make their decision during the trustees’ May 6 meeting, based on Governor Mike DeWine’s guidelines, Benner said.

Anyone who wishes to tune in to a meeting should go to the township website, click on “meetings,” and follow prompts for the first or third monthly meeting.

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Wendy DiAlesandro is a former Record Publishing Co. reporter and contributing writer for The Portager.