by Jolene Toves

Guam - Things have changed significantly at Veterans Cemetery in Piti - and according to Veteran Affairs director John Unpingco, things are only going to get better. "Re-aligning and cleaning headstones for the ground burials and also the grass turf will be shaved off and new turf put in something that will hopefully require less maintenance," he explained.

According to Unpingco, he's days away from inking a $3.9 million architect and engineering contract to expand the Piti cemetery, which includes the addition of an estimated 1,000 new crypts, 1,000 new column burials and the addition of in-ground burial plots to accommodate oversize coffins as well as the construction of a perimeter road for easier accessibility. But just as Veterans Cemetery embarks on making major improvements, the sacred ground is targeted by vandals.

It was discovered this morning that burglars have once again tried to dampen that effort by making off with as much as $6,000 worth of tools and supplies used in the upkeep at the cemetery. An investigation into the burglary is ongoing.

Maintenance supervisor Peter Atogiue told KUAM News, "I noticed that the shutters were laying here; that's when I looked over saw that the window was ajar open from the top and I found a bolt-cutter that was laying here on the ground." He says among the items that were stolen include four bushcutters, two chain saws, three blowers, a tool box, a hammer drill, jack hammer, skills saw, electric drill to name a few.

It was in 2011 the Veterans Cemetery maintenance building was last burglarized, in that incident more than $20,000 worth of equipment was stolen. If you have any information about this latest burglary, call Guam Crimestoppers at 477-HELP (4357).