Skowhegan, ME Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

The alcohol rule is item 6 of Section IV, General Regulations, in the Town of Skowhegan's Regulations for the Administration of Public Cemeteries, approved at Town Meeting on June 12, 2023. It reads in full that the consumption or use of any alcoholic beverage or illegal drugs in any Town owned cemetery is prohibited. The sentence contains no exception for a graveside gathering and names no permit that lifts it.

The ordinance covers the Town owned cemeteries listed on its cover: East Skowhegan Cemetery at 449 Oak Pond Road, Larone (Whiting) Cemetery at 36 Larone Road, Malbons Mills Cemetery at 418 Malbons Mills Road, North Cemetery at 12 Walton Court, Old Bloomfield Cemetery at 26 Cemetery Road, Old River Road (Herrin) Cemetery at 112 East River Road, Pooler Cemetery at 419 Oak Pond Road and Southside (Bloomfield) Cemetery at 103 Main Street. Because the rule is written for Town owned cemeteries, this page describes no rule for streets, sidewalks or parks in the Town of Skowhegan, Maine.

Enforcement starts with the Sexton, whom the Board of Selectmen appoints each year on the first day of July and who, under Section III, item 1, is sworn in as a constable to enforce the cemetery ordinances. Item 18 of Section IV directs the Sexton to report malicious or vexatious damage and thefts to the Skowhegan Police Department. Hours matter too: under item 19, cemeteries close one half hour after sunset and open one half hour prior to sun rise, and a person who enters or remains in a cemetery while it is closed is guilty of criminal trespass. Section IV also bars firearms except as part of a military burial (item 5), pets other than service dogs (item 11), and vehicles that leave the cemetery roadways without the Sexton's authorization (item 1).