Federal check expands Veterans cemetery at Igo

Photo by Mike Coffey/Veterans Assistant

COLUMBARIA WALL -- Ten more columbaria walls, containing 2,000 niches for cremated remains, will be built at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo at a cost of more than $900,000.

Photo by Mike Coffey/Veterans Assistant

EXPANSION -- For the first time since the Northern California Veterans Cemetery opened in 2005, the capacity will expand by 2,000 spaces for cremated remains once 10 more columbaria walls are built. Construction is funded by a federal grant of more than $900,000.

Federal and state officials visited the Northern California Veterans Cemetery Tuesday, Nov. 8, to present a $900,174 check for construction of 10 more columbaria walls, each containing 200 niches for cremated remains.

Construction on the columbaria walls began shortly after the ceremony ended, reported Mike Coffey, an associate program governmental analyst for the cemetery.

“The guys are out there right now doing the grading and other prep work,” Coffey said.

During the outdoor ceremony, Frank Salvas, director of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ State Cemetery Grant Program presented an oversized check on poster board to California Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Peter J. Gravett, said cemetery administrator Stephen Jorgensen.

“We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for approving this grant to expand the number of burial niches at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery,” Gravett said.

“This expansion in the number of columbaria will allow us to provide veterans and their families with a place to honor the memory of loved ones who gave so much to preserve our nation’s freedoms and way of life,” Gravett noted.

The ceremony and construction project marks the first expansion of the cemetery since it opened in 2005, Jorgensen stated.

The existing cemetery columbaria walls, offering 1,600 niches, are expected to be at full capacity during November.

There will be a three- to four-month waiting period for new niches while the new columbaria are under construction.

When fully constructed, the additional columbaria walls will provide enough niches to last the cemetery another 10 years, said Jorgensen, who previously said the cemetery is currently accepting between 500 to 600 remains for in-ground burial or columbaria placement each year.

The high number of burials each year is due to the fact that most World War II and Korean War veterans are now in their late 80s, Jorgensen said.

And with the steadily rising costs for caskets and other funeral arrangements, nearly 70 percent of the remains received at the cemetery are cremated, he added.

The columbaria construction contract was awarded to E.C. Smith Inc. of Anderson.

In addition to the check presentation, Gravett presented certificates of appreciation recognizing their commitment to veterans and their contributions to the Northern California Veterans Cemetery to:

• Eagle Scout Ryan Parke, for construction of two committal service urn pedestals honoring all five branches of the service. These urn pedestals will be used at both the Veterans Memorial Building and the outside committal shelter during services.

• Eagle Scout Zachary Havens for constructing a shade shelter next to the Memorial Building as his project.

• Chris McCandless for providing his sound system and musical talents at cemetery events and for also being a contributor at many other Northstate veterans’ events.

• Home Depot Team No. 6682, for planting trees around the Memorial Building and painting several of the cemetery’s structures.

The Northern California Veterans Cemetery is the first state-owned and operated veterans cemetery in the Golden State.

The cemetery serves the veteran population in 18 Northern California counties and the currently developed area of the cemetery provides sufficient burial space for more than 30 years. Beyond that, the cemetery has the capacity for expansion, Jorgensen said.