Cemetery Crew Trying To Sort Out Repairs, Expenses
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Around noon July 22, Doyle Munson and a grounds crew arrived at Pleasant Grove Cemetery on CR 400S to find a shocking sight.
More than 60 of the cemetery's 150-200 headstones had been vandalized sometime overnight.
Many of the stones are broken in pieces, chipped or knocked off their bases.
"At this point, nothing has been put back," said Munson, the secretary-treasurer of Pleasant Grove Cemetery Association, Wednesday afternoon. "Some of the stones have been pushed back to their bases so we could mow around them, but nothing has been put back together."
Now Munson has something more than just the vandals to worry about: How to get the gravestones and monuments repaired.
"We are still exploring different avenues for financial help," said Munson. "Financially this is rough, and we don't know how we are going to pay to repair the damage."
According to Wayne Township Trustee Dan Slone, Pleasant Grove Cemetery belongs to Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church and not to Wayne Township.
And some of the damage will be expensive to repair.
According to Tony Lloyd of Patten Monuments, the repairs could range from simple to quite extensive.
"It varies, there is not a set way we handle these sorts of things," said Lloyd. "If there is just minor damage, we can usually set the monument back on its base and reseal it without a great deal of cost. In the past, we have also seen pieces snapped off monuments, especially older ones that are made out of limestone or marble. The longer they have been out in the elements, the more brittle they can become. Sometimes we can piece monuments back together with epoxy, but you can always see where it was repaired. And then again, some pieces are damaged to the point where they cannot be repaired, and then you must replace the piece entirely."
Lloyd also offered advice that could help some families pay for repairs to the damaged monuments.
"Some people have coverage in their homeowners' insurance policy - monuments are sometimes considered personal property. Sometimes people have this type of coverage in their policy and they don't even know it."
Making the situation even more difficult for Munson and others involved with the cemetery is the fact that nothing like this has ever happened at the site before.
When asked what happens next, Munson said, "That's a good question ... . We are in the process of checking with different foundations for assistance, but most do not meet until September. I guess we will have to wait until then to ask them for assistance."
Another challenge Munson faces is finding the families of the people whose gravestones were vandalized.
"A lot of the stones are many years old, so we have no idea how to get ahold of many of the families," said Munson.
And until the money to repair the damages is raised, the stones remain scattered and broken in the cemetery, a constant reminder of the vandalism. At this point, there are no suspects in the incident, but if found, the culprits will face misdemeanor criminal mischief charges. Reports have been filed with the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, and Munson has asked for more patrols of the area.
At this point, at least one person has offered their services to help put the cemetery back in order.
"One individual has already offered to donate a machine to help set (the gravestones) back up on their bases," said Munson. "But to be honest, at this point we don't know where to start."
For more information on how to help with the cleanup and repairs, contact Munson at 574-267-4154. [[In-content Ad]]
Around noon July 22, Doyle Munson and a grounds crew arrived at Pleasant Grove Cemetery on CR 400S to find a shocking sight.
More than 60 of the cemetery's 150-200 headstones had been vandalized sometime overnight.
Many of the stones are broken in pieces, chipped or knocked off their bases.
"At this point, nothing has been put back," said Munson, the secretary-treasurer of Pleasant Grove Cemetery Association, Wednesday afternoon. "Some of the stones have been pushed back to their bases so we could mow around them, but nothing has been put back together."
Now Munson has something more than just the vandals to worry about: How to get the gravestones and monuments repaired.
"We are still exploring different avenues for financial help," said Munson. "Financially this is rough, and we don't know how we are going to pay to repair the damage."
According to Wayne Township Trustee Dan Slone, Pleasant Grove Cemetery belongs to Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church and not to Wayne Township.
And some of the damage will be expensive to repair.
According to Tony Lloyd of Patten Monuments, the repairs could range from simple to quite extensive.
"It varies, there is not a set way we handle these sorts of things," said Lloyd. "If there is just minor damage, we can usually set the monument back on its base and reseal it without a great deal of cost. In the past, we have also seen pieces snapped off monuments, especially older ones that are made out of limestone or marble. The longer they have been out in the elements, the more brittle they can become. Sometimes we can piece monuments back together with epoxy, but you can always see where it was repaired. And then again, some pieces are damaged to the point where they cannot be repaired, and then you must replace the piece entirely."
Lloyd also offered advice that could help some families pay for repairs to the damaged monuments.
"Some people have coverage in their homeowners' insurance policy - monuments are sometimes considered personal property. Sometimes people have this type of coverage in their policy and they don't even know it."
Making the situation even more difficult for Munson and others involved with the cemetery is the fact that nothing like this has ever happened at the site before.
When asked what happens next, Munson said, "That's a good question ... . We are in the process of checking with different foundations for assistance, but most do not meet until September. I guess we will have to wait until then to ask them for assistance."
Another challenge Munson faces is finding the families of the people whose gravestones were vandalized.
"A lot of the stones are many years old, so we have no idea how to get ahold of many of the families," said Munson.
And until the money to repair the damages is raised, the stones remain scattered and broken in the cemetery, a constant reminder of the vandalism. At this point, there are no suspects in the incident, but if found, the culprits will face misdemeanor criminal mischief charges. Reports have been filed with the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, and Munson has asked for more patrols of the area.
At this point, at least one person has offered their services to help put the cemetery back in order.
"One individual has already offered to donate a machine to help set (the gravestones) back up on their bases," said Munson. "But to be honest, at this point we don't know where to start."
For more information on how to help with the cleanup and repairs, contact Munson at 574-267-4154. [[In-content Ad]]