Cemetery protesters

speak out at council

By CYNTHIA AUKERMAN

News-Gazette reporter

Several people attended Monday's Union City, Ind. council meeting to express their displeasure over the wholesale removal of decorations from the cemetery recently.

Mayor Bryan Conklin began the discussion by saying he had not discussed the magnitude of the removal with city workers and would not have authorized the wholesale removal of decorations if he had been in town when it was done. He said the crew was attempting to ready the cemetery for spring and the upcoming Memorial Day.

"I offer my heartfelt apologies to those who are upset, hurt or just plain mad," Conklin said. "The workers thought they were doing the right thing to clean up the cemetery within the rules. What's done is done, and it was not done with malice."

The most contentious exchanges were between Conklin and Jeannie and Mike Collins.

Jeannie Collins said Conklin took full responsibility for the decoration removal at a park board meeting but now appeared to be blaming Rick Reichard, the superintendent of the park, cemetery and street department. She said his statements Monday night differed from his first remarks at the park board meeting. She concluded her statement by saying there was no way the cemetery protests had anything to do with Republicans or Democrats.

Conklin said he did not indicate at the park board meeting that he had wanted the wholesale removal to take place. He said he assumed the responsibility for the event because, as mayor, he has the ultimate responsibility.

City manager Monte Poling noted that Conklin was not in town during the removal of the decorations.

Mike Collins began his remarks by asking, "Where do we go from here?"

Conklin replied the matter would be in the hands of the park and cemetery board, and plans were already underway to bring the signs with the decorating rules closer to the entrances of the cemetery.

Collins said what happened at the cemetery made him sick, and he showed a photo of a dumpster crammed with decorations.

Conklin said the wholesale removal of all decorations was a mistake, but city employees were responding to complaints of debris from the cemetery going into the park and down Jackson Pike.

When Collins continued to protest, Conklin asked, "We have apologized and recognized our mistake. What do you want us to do?"

Collins replied, "Keep your hands off my folks' graves! I will take care of them myself."

When someone said there was a book of cemetery rules that apparently had not been given to lot purchasers, Collins said Lee Rains, former park and cemetery superintendent was being made a scapegoat.

Conklin challenged the idea that Rains was being used as a scapegoat for what happened at the cemetery. He said one of the hardest days of his life was having to take action based on what had been discovered about Rains' cemetery management. He said the abrupt change in management was part of what led to the mistake in removing all decorations.

Debbie Lewis, in tears, asked if anybody was going to reimburse her for the loss of the decorations at her family's graves. Conklin said she could turn in a bill to the park and cemetery board, but he could not guarantee what the board would do.

Odine Starbuck said the shame was the loss of thousands of dollars of nice decorations, and she made a remark about the city trying to "railroad" the former director. Rains has been charged with three counts of ghost employment and three counts for official misconduct for using city workers and equipment to work in St. Mary's Cemetery and pocketing the money.

Councilman Jim Hufford objected to the tone of personal attacks. He said he lives close to the cemetery and has had many people stopping at his house with complaints bordering on personal attacks. He said a person who buys a plot in a cemetery does not have unlimited rights.

When some people said the incident would not be forgotten or forgiven, Councilman Chad Spence tried to calm feelings by telling about his grandparents being in the cemetery. He said, "I know what our Heavenly Father would have us to do. A grudge is not worth it. Your loved ones buried out there would be the first to tell you that life is fleeting. There were no ill intentions in what was done. No one has let their loved ones out there down because of the removal. What is in your mind and heart is what honors your loved ones."

Just as a calm note filtered through the audience, Duane Dodd rose to assert that the cemetery lot belongs to him and his heirs. He said, "It's your job to maintain it, not to destroy or to dictate. Make sure the community is involved in what you decide to do."

Craig Downey, whose wife is on the park and cemetery board, said, "Nothing was done in malice. Any time you start enforcing rules, there will be upsets. But now is the perfect opportunity to begin attending the park board meetings. Every community has rules, and the cemetery has to have rules."

Reichard rose to say, "I made a mistake, a bad judgment call. We wanted to do the best job we could. I've learned a lot in the last few weeks and had a lot of input from others."

Darren Hindsley, assistant superintendent, said he had a lot of respect for the mayor for taking the responsibility for the removal. He added, "It had to be cleaned up. it was a mess."

Bob Gentry, a member of the UCI Board of Public Works and Safety, said, "Rick Reichard is one of the best public servants I've ever been around, but some people won't be happy until he falls under a truck. That's not going to happen. We put a really big burden on him, and it's time for him to stop apologizing."

The park and cemetery board meets at 4:30 the first Tuesday of the month at the Community Room. The meetings are open to the public.