Balfe to retire after 27 years of tending to city's parks, cemetery

Working for 27 years at the same job for the same employer is quite an accomplishment. For Tom Balfe, it is also been a labor of love.

Balfe will park the riding mower, hang up the leaf blower and stop tending to the city’s cemetery and parks today when he retires in favor of spending more time on the river doing his favorite hobby — fishing.

At 64 years of age, Balfe has spent many hours making sure the city’s parks and cemetery are pristine. It’s a matter of pride for him.

He proudly admits that being the groundskeeper at the cemetery is a task he has accomplished with great pride and revere...