Panama City clearing hurricane debris from 3 cemeteries
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) - Workers in the Florida Panhandle are clearing fallen trees and removing debris from cemeteries damaged by Hurricane Michael.
Panama City's city manager Mark McQueen tells the News Herald the process will include remove tree stumps from three cemeteries maintained by the city before eventually identifying and repairing damaged headstones and grave vaults.
McQueen says a "significant" amount of the clearing work will be completed by the end of January at Oakland, Greenwood and Millville cemeteries.
Since the storm hit Oct. 10, the city's leisure services department has worked with volunteer groups to create safe pathways for public access into the cemeteries.
McQueen says the cemeteries are "very important" to him, adding that there is "so much history in those headstones."