The St. Joseph Cemetery Commission is pleased to report that construction work has been completed and all the main roads at the Cemetery have been repaved. This includes the main road at the Pecks Road entrance all the way to the Cross in the upper section. Travel in and out of the cemetery is now much easier and the overall appearance of the cemetery is greatly improved. The Cemetery launched a capital campaign in mid-2018 to raise funds to make much-needed drainage and road repairs. Through the generosity of Catholic parishioners and friends, and a large gift from the Catholic Diocese of Springfield, nearly $1.3 million has been pledged to date. The Cemetery carried out extensive drainage improvements last fall to correct long standing flooding issues that occurred regularly in the winter and spring, especially in the upper section of the cemetery. Flooding often made burials and visits difficult in certain areas. A J Virgilio of Westfield was the low bidder and selected as contractor. All catch basins were cleaned out and new ones added. Broken and collapsed drain lines were replaced and over 1700 feet of new subsurface drain lines installed. In addition to the drainage problems on the upper level, there was a serious flooding problem in the northeast corner of the lower level. Volunteers from the Knights of Columbus Council #103 stepped forward and cleared out an old 700 -foot drainage ditch that had been blocked and not working for years. They and cemetery staff cleared brush, sediment, trees and debris and removed soil blockages. They completed erosion control and seeding. Hopefully this will eliminate most of the flooding in that area. The total project cost of the drainage work and reconstructing or repaving all the existing paved roads in the cemetery was estimated at $1.8 million in 2016. The Capital Campaign goal was set at $1.2 million, the amount the feasibility study recommended could be raised, and approximately $1.3 million has been pledged to date. Therefore, all roads were not able to be repaved at this time. Some additional roads will be repaved in the next two years as the balance of the pledges are paid in. The Cemetery Commission is continuing to seek out other donations in order to complete the remaining road repaving. Contributions would be appreciated and can be made to the Cemetery office at 222 Pecks Road. Jack Laviolette, Chair, Cemetery Commission Peter Lafayette, Chair, Capital Campaign