OPRD release – The Oregon Commission on Historic Cemeteries (OCHC) will meet in Redmond at the Redmond City Hall, 411 SW 9th St, Civic Room 208, and via online meeting on April 6 at 1:00 p.m. The agenda includes updates on marker cleaning and repair of metal features in historic cemeteries. The meeting is open to the public and the agenda includes an opportunity for public comment. Meeting information is on the agenda or you can follow this link to register for online access information. Following the meeting, at 5:30 p.m. will be Restoring Native Plants in Central Oregon’s Historic Cemeteries, a free talk, no registration required, but it will not be available online. Join Hayley Brazier, Curator of Natural History at the High Desert Museum, to learn about the benefits of supporting native plant species in historic cemeteries. Hayley will discuss the best places to source native plants, methods of removing unwanted invasives and weeds, and some challenges you may encounter when re-establishing native plants in your cemetery. This talk will highlight invasive and native plants common to Central and Eastern Oregon’s “dry side.” On April 7, OCHC will offer a historic cemetery marker assessment, cleaning, and repair workshop. The free workshop will be from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the Redmond Memorial Cemetery, 3545 S Canal Blvd. It will address marker assessment, cleaning, leveling, resetting and repair. The workshop is FREE, but registration is required. The workshop is presented by Dave Pinyerd and Bernadette Niederer of Historic Preservation Northwest. The City of Redmond is providing the site and a portion of the materials. Participants should bring their lunch, snacks, water to drink, a stool or folding chair to sit on, gloves to wear, a hat, sunscreen, appropriate clothing as this is a hands-on workshop, comfortable shoes, a pen and note pad and camera if they want to take photos during the workshop. The workshop will take place rain or shine. State law established the seven-member Commission to maintain a listing of all historic cemeteries and gravesites in Oregon; promote public education on the significance of historic cemeteries; and help obtain financial and technical assistance for restoring, improving and maintaining their appearances. For more information about commission activities, contact coordinator Kuri Gill at 503-986-0685 or by e-mail at kuri.gill@oprd.oregon.gov. Special accommodations for the meeting – including translation services – may be made by calling (503) 986‐0690 or Jodie.Lucas@oprd.oregon.gov at least 72 hours prior to the start of the meeting. For call-in details and the agenda or more information about the commission, visit www.oregonheritage.org.
