SC city will no longer let churches bury people for free

MANNING, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina city will no longer allow churches to bury people in the city-owned cemetery for free.

The Sumter Item reports that Manning City Council unanimously voted to end the practice which the city administrator said was a gentleman’s agreement long ago without any written record.

Bodies were sometimes buried with no records and the city isn’t even sure how many people are buried there.

Officials say the cemetery is almost out of land and is only burying people with existing plots.