Mount Union residents accuse landscaper of defiling graves during tense meeting

HUNTINGDON COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A controversy surrounding the Mount Union Cemetery continued Wednesday as dozens of residents attended a borough council meeting to voice their anger.

This comes after many discovered grave decorations at the cemetery had been removed and destroyed over the past weekend. The tense meeting saw several residents speaking up for what some described as “desecrating grave sites.” That lead to the borough choosing to go in a different direction for the caretaking of the cemetery.

Mount Union Borough Council President Heath Himes apologized on Monday, April 29 and said that it was due in part to the borough hiring a new landscaping business to care for the cemetery. Landscaper Gary Johnson had his bid approved by the council to take over landscaping duties.

As the meeting began, Johnson told residents that he was just following the rules and that he had to remove several decorations as a precaution.

“I sympathize and I feel all of your anger. But you need to understand, we’ve had 50 to 70-mile-per-hour winds,” Johnson said.

However, Johnson’s explanation didn’t satisfy most who attended the meeting.

“I understand if you need to move things to mow. These were not things that were on the ground. And I’m sorry sir but they didn’t blow away,” a resident said.

Many with family members buried in the cemetery complained that their decorations had been thrown in the trash carelessly, with some decorations and even gravestones broken.

“When they ripped that out they ripped her date of birth off of the stone. This is a flat stone. Now you tell me why do you need to take stuff off of a flat stone. She had praying hands, she had angels, they’re gone,” Another resident said. “And it’s thrown in a pile. And they’re saying go through it, I’m not rooting through the garbage, you gotta be crazy.”

Johnson pleaded his case to the council, as many were still outraged at the removal of flags, crosses and even photographs.

“This flag is broke. It had a spear on it and everyone that I picked up it is not my responsibility to throw them away. I stuck them by the veteran,” Johnson said.

After public comment and a short executive session, the council approved a motion to terminate Johnson’s contract with the borough.

“Unfortunately this last bid process, we went with the lowest bid and that lowest bid is new to the job. When given guidance to follow the rules, maybe that was confusing,” Borough Council President Himes said.

Get daily updates on local news, weather and sports by signing up for the WTAJ Newsletter .

The council also announced that the borough will be forming a committee to make new rules for the cemetery.

“We will make the public aware of that so that moving forward they can have input in those rules and those decisions so we can update them accordingly,” Himes said.

The council also said that there will be a two-week period for anyone to go and get their keepsakes from the cemetery and they encourage anyone who has trouble doing so to reach out. Johnson told council members that his lawyer would be in touch.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com.