62°F
weather icon Partly Cloudy

Veterans cemetery breaks ground on expansion

Officials held a groundbreaking ceremony Jan. 25 for an expansion at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City.

The project will add more than 5,400 new in-ground burial plots, as well as more than 5,700 above-ground niches. Mayor Joe Hardy, who gave remarks at the event, was among the dignitaries in attendance.

Chris Naylor, superintendent for the cemetery, estimates the expansion will add seven to 10 more years of burial availability.

“We already own the land,” Naylor said. “We’re just developing the land to add more burial spots.”

New roads, roundabouts, sidewalks and landscaping will be added to the cemetery.

Work on the expansion is expected to begin Feb. 6 and conclude around Aug. 8. It’s being funded through a Department of Veterans Affairs grant of more than $5 million, with some additional funding coming from the state government.

The veterans’ cemetery is the second “busiest” state-level cemetery in the country — with more than 50,000 interments of eligible veterans — because of Southern Nevada’s large number of military veterans.

Naylor noted that a veteran does not need to have been a Southern Nevada resident to be buried there.

“We get people from all over the country that are buried here,” Naylor said. “If they received an honorable discharge, and they met the requirements for burial benefits, then they can be buried here.”

Contact Justin Razavi at jrazavi@reviewjournal.com. Follow @justin_razavi on Twitter.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Community pride on full display

A mixture of lime, paint and water was used to touch up the city landmark, which saw the B first painted in 1985 and two years later the C by BCHS students. It had been 10 years since the last time it was touched up. Event organizer Bret Runion said he was pleased with the turnout and hopes to see even more assist in future years.

It’s official: STRs banned in BC

For an issue that has caused so much local uproar for more than a year, the question of whether Boulder City should formalize the informal-but-still-binding ban on short-term rentals (STR) within city limits ended with more of a whimper than a bang Tuesday as the City Council voted 4-1 to adopt text changes to city code clarifying that the practice is illegal and establishing a system of civil fines for STR owners who continue to operate.

A busy Saturday in Boulder City

Saturday proved to be a very busy day in Boulder City as events included repainting of the BC on Radar Mountain (see page 2 for photos), as well as the city’s Easter Egg Hunt at Wilbur Square, Flowfest and the popular goat yoga class at Bicentennial Park and the Injured Police Officers Fund car show at Veterans’ Memorial Park.

To chip or not to chip?

In its second time at the plate, as it were, the proposal by Boulder City Councilmember Cokie Booth to require that pets within BC be microchipped ended up with a lot of people talking about maybe taking a swing at the ball but no one actually doing so.

Council candidate slate set

A total of seven candidates for city council and three candidates for justice of the peace of Boulder Township will face off in the primary election scheduled for June 11.

Ultrarunner to push himself to the limit

It’s not uncommon for friends or even family members to try and best one another whether that be athletics, academics or relationships.

Vets home hit with 18 citations

In a recent unannounced inspection, the Southern Nevada State Veterans’ Home was cited 18 times for issues ranging from verbal abuse of a patient to failing to provide meals at an appropriate temperature, to employees not having keys to locked gates, which would be needed in the case of an emergency evacuation.

BDCU looks back on past year at annual meeting

For more than eight decades, the Boulder Dam Credit Union has been the most popular place for Boulder City residents to do their banking, not to mention see friends and neighbors.

Top o’ the evening to ya

Photos by Ron Eland/Boulder City Review

BC repaint: Countdown is on

It’s almost time to don that old pair of jeans, the ratty tennis shoes in the back of your closet and a shirt you’re not worried about ruining.