Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008

Our View: Is peace ahead at Evergreen?

Judge allows sale of neglected cemetery to go ahead and Galgiani's bill may bring a resolution.

The funeral and burial are intended to give closure to the families with the passing of a loved one.

But for the families of those buried at Evergreen Memorial Park, there has been no closure for some time now.

But resolution looks to be forthcoming after Judge Ronald Hansen on Monday removed an injunction that had kept the cemetery from being sold.

Because of outstanding loans, which total $2.1 million, Evergreen has been in foreclosure since last October. The injunction had been in place since November when a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Mary Ann Theisen, a trustee of the Waybreen Trust, and Mike Metz, successor co-trustee of the Survivor Trust, and other investors who had loaned Evergreen the money last year.

The lawsuit stemmed from a disagreement over who gets paid first, said Chris Lampe, an attorney for Theisen and Metz. But Superior Court Judge Hansen worked all that out.

Now the cemetery will be auctioned to an outside party who can get the proper licenses and reopen the cemetery and crematorium, Lampe said.

Evergreen has been without an operating license since last year because Michael Wallace, who the state says owns the company that operates Evergreen, owes the state more than $44,000 in unpaid fines and fees for a long list of violations. These violations occurred when he was director at Madera Funeral Home.

Wallace's funeral establishment license and director's license were revoked in 2003.

When city code enforcement inspectors visited the cemetery in July they found waterlogged carpet in the mausoleum and four people living in the cemetery office.

The cemetery neighbors' complained of sinking graves, broken headstones, litter and overall dilapidation. Family members of those buried at Evergreen have called the Sun-Star to complain about the sad state of the cemetery.

Even Assemblywoman Cathleen Galgiani, D-Stockton, has gotten a bill passed in both houses of the legislature to have the state appoint a temporary manager so at least the cemetery can be maintained. But that bill is buried temporarily until the state budget is passed. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has promised to veto any bill that comes to him until that bit of business is taken care of.

One way or the other, we hope that those resting at Evergreen will finally get the peace their families want.