Some Lebanon residents have grown upset that a large tree resting on top of some tombstones has not been removed from a local cemetery.
About six weeks, a strong storm toppled the tree, but it landed on some grave sites at Cedar Grove Cemetery.
Several people have taken to a local Facebook group to express their disappointment in the city for the lack of urgency.
Some using the words disgraceful, unacceptable and shameful that it is taking several weeks to fix.
The City of Lebanon is responsible for the cleanup since it owns the cemetery.
Several city officials have responded back including Mayor Philip Craighead who said the city is doing what it can to remove the tree.
According to Commissioner of Public Works Jeff Baine, cleaning up the tree is not as easy it looks.
"Ti this point, we're still battling storms from late last month and early this month," Baines told NewsChannel 5.
Baines said the storms were so bad, that crews are still trying to catch up to cleaning up high volume of debris across the city.
The department is focusing on using their resources on areas of the city that need cleaning up before they can touch the cemetery since it does not pose an immediate danger.
"Our first priority is simply clear streets first and then clean up neighborhoods," Baines added.
Mayor Craighead said the city reported the tree to its insurance company for a claim but it was denied. The city asked for bids from local tree companies and are now waiting to hear back from a third party contractor.
"We don't want to go in there with a bunch of chainsaws and back limbs and tearing up the tombstones," Baines said. "That would have a reason to be concerned."
Mayor Craighead said in a post over the weekend that there is damage to the headstones but Baines told NewsChannel 5 on Monday that there is no damage per the insurance provider.
Removing the tree may take up to two weeks and will cost about $2,000.
