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Waverly receives cemetery preservation grant
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WAVERLY, N.Y. - The Village of Waverly has been awarded a grant to help preserve its cemeteries, it was announced at Tuesday's Waverly Board of Trustees meeting.
The grant, amounting to $5,000, comes from the office of New York State Assemblyman Thomas O'Mara, Mayor Kyle McDuffee said. The grant will go towards the restoration of a Civil War-era 6-pound field gun in one of the village cemeteries, according to Ron Keene, of Friends of Waverly Cemetery Preservation Inc. The restoration project includes procuring a new carriage for the cannon barrel, as well as an enclosure to protect the gun, Keene said. The project still has a long way to go, but Keene said the grant is a "step in the right direction." The friends of the cemetery will continue with fundraising efforts to support the cannon project, he said.
At the meeting Keene thanked McDuffee and retired village clerk Sondra Casterline for their help in securing the grant.
"It's quite a project," Keene said, adding that the cemetery group hopes to construct an enclosure for the cannon that is similar to the pavilion currently at Waverly's Village Green.
The board also discussed progress on the project to renovate a former school building that the village has purchased on Ithaca Street for the purposes of moving the village services to. McDuffee said that he and Deputy Mayor Kyle Sorensen have a meeting with Hunt Engineers, the firm the village has hired for the engineering work on the project, on Friday to discuss the direction of the project.
Trustee Jerry Sinsabaugh said that work on demolition for the project using in-kind services should be completed by Sunday. Using in-kind services from volunteers for the project has saved the village around $100,000, Sinsabaugh said.
"Jerry's done a nice job," McDuffee said, adding that Sinsabaugh both organized volunteers on the project and worked alongside them as well.
Ongoing work to replace the roof of the building should be completed by next week, Sorensen said.
Brian Bishop can be reached at (570) 888-9652; or e-mail: bbishop@thedailyreview.com.
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