ORISKANY — The Oriskany Cemetery Association has received a grant of more than $72,000 from the New York State Division of Cemeteries to repair or remove monuments that are dilapidated or in disrepair in Oriskany Cemetery.

Village officials said they sent the grant application to the state Division of Cemeteries several months ago and that the grant would normally only cover the repair or removal of about 50 monuments. But Oriskany Cemetery Association President Dolores A. Pugh said a walk through of the cemetery determined that about 150 monuments should have been considered for repair.

Monuments were then marked for state inspection. Following grant application protocols, requests for bids were sent to area monument companies, Pugh said.

While the grant application had been submitted in February, Oriskany Cemetery Association heard word that during the state Division of Cemeteries meeting in July, Oriskany’s grant application was approved for $72,765.

While three bids were submitted as part of the application, the low bidder was Northeast Cemetery Services in Utica, which will begin work at the cemetery in the near future, Pugh said.