Government Briefs

Greenwood Cemetery Boundary Adjusted

A boundary adjustment for Greenwood Cemetery was approved by Buena Vista City Council on May 4. The adjustment increases the size of the city-owned cemetery by about an acre so that it encompasses all known graves and has road frontage to improve access.

Preston Evans, a member of Friends of Greenwood Cemetery and whose grandparents are buried in the cemetery, said 190 graves have been marked to date but that there are more. The project to identify, mark and clean up the graves has been “overwhelming,” he remarked.

The cemetery, within a wooded area off of Woodland Avenue, behind Enderly Heights Elementary School, dates to Buena Vista’s founding in the 1890s. Originally designated as a cemetery for paupers, it over time became a cemetery for African Americans.

Friends of Greenwood Cemetery is undertaking a process to clear away brush around the grave sites and identify graves to the extent possible. Future plans include installing a fence and interpretive signage.

Burch New Council Clerk

Sarah Burch has been hired to be Buena Vista clerk of City Council and administrative assistant to the city manager.

A 2004 graduate of Rockbridge County High School, Burch has most recently worked as corporate human resource and administration manager for Zoofari Parks. She was customer service supervisor at City National Bank in Buena Vista from 2020 to 2022 and was customer service manager at Food Lion in Lexington from 2017 to 2020. She attended Ashford University.

City Council appointed Burch to her new position on May 4.

“Sarah’s customer service background will be a wonderful asset and we look forward to working with her and the skills she brings to the city of Buena Vista,” said City Manager Jason Tyree.

Burch succeeds Dawn Wheeler, who recently retired.