We’ve all seen cemeteries where gravesite maintenance seems to have fallen by the wayside. Now, a new Golden Triangle business can help.
Cemetery Monument Care and Cleaning is based in Columbus. Owner Sidney Runnels, though, said he will travel to most cemeteries in Lowndes, Clay and Oktibehha counties to offer his services.
What services?
Runnels, armed with a few household cleaning supplies and lots of elbow grease, will clean up individual grave markers and monuments. He will tidy up the landscape, trimming weeds and addressing ants, as need be, too.
“This is preserving the memories of loved ones,” he told The Dispatch on Wednesday.
Runnels spent three-plus decades in city government jobs, mainly in Mississippi. Today, he does part-time work with a local funeral home, and while his new venture is completely independent from that job, it brought him in contact with many gravesites that need some TLC. That led to him starting Cemetery Monument Care and Cleaning.
Runnels is a one-man team. His fees begin at $25.
He can be reached at 662-809-5751 or [email protected].
(Full disclosure: Sidney Runnels is the husband of Dispatch sales representative Mary Jane Runnels.)
Moving on.
You may have seen in Wednesday’s edition of The Dispatch that Tim White, a local businessman, purchased some roll-up doors and windows from Lowndes County recently. He offered $250 in a bidding process for the doors — three of them — and was awarded them Tuesday. They came off of Rural Hill Fire Station out in the eastern portion of the county, just off Highway 50. The old fire station is being replaced with a new one.
The Dispatch contacted White to see just what a man does with three roll-up doors.
White, who sold his fence-building business roughly a decade ago, said he plans on installing them on his personal shop, which sits near his home, not far from the fire station. His plan is simple but smart: Roll them up when he’s tinkering about to let some breeze come through.
Lastly, in October we told you that Ulta Beauty, the largest beauty retailer in the U.S., is opening a store on 18th Avenue North in Columbus. If you’ve recently been by the spot — just behind Walgreens on Highway 45 North — you can see that construction has picked up speed. The 13,000 square foot building (which will also house a Mattress Firm) is in place, in fact.
No word on when Ulta may open, but online job postings indicate they are moving along with the hiring process.
Browning on Business is a weekly column that runs each Thursday. We want your input. Send items and tips to [email protected] or [email protected].
William Browning was managing editor for The Dispatch until June 2016.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.