Duplin County Cemetery Running Out Of Room

Rodney Lambert has lived in Calypso most of his life. He said he is truly worried about the cemetery's future because of his family connection.

"My parents are buried out there. I've got a brother and four or five sisters buried out there," he said.

Lambert plans to be buried out there too. When the cemetery started filling up, he went ahead and bought a plot just big enough for himself, his wife and son. Lambert and other longtime residents claims too many people who never lived in the area decided to make this their final resting place.

"So many people were coming from out of town because they could buy their plots cheaper," he said.

Esther Williams has called Calypso home for more than 40 years. She does not have any family buried at the cemetery, but she hopes its days are not numbered.

"I think it's important because it would be wrong to have to carry them away someplace else when they live here in Calypso," she said.

The town is trying to work some money into next year's budget to buy land that borders the cemetery. They hope to expand before the last plot is taken. If the town buys more land, it will then decide who can buy plots.

Residents' opinions about who should reside in the cemetery have been mixed.

"I think they should keep enough for the people in town," Lambert said.

"The way I feel -- just the people in Calypso -- that would be selfish to keep it just for the people in Calypso," Williams said.

The town is looking for ways to save money so it can buy more cemetery land. One idea is using public works crew for landscaping instead of private contractors.