IONIA TOWNSHIP, Mich.—A Civil War Veteran and his 10-year-old son’s mausoleum was destroyed at Hyland Park Cemetery in Ionia County, but it wasn’t vandalized. Instead, the township supervisor and the board voted to take it down after the supervisor thought it was merely a “shed.”
It’s a story the Problem Solvers have brought you before.
The township supervisor has changed his story more than a few times. He originally said the structure was a “shed” and then said it was a safety hazard. Also, he said bodies inside were not there, and then said he didn’t really know if they were or not.
In a township meeting on Tuesday, resident and business owner, Barry Bussell, brought the topic of the mausoleum up in public comments.
“A lot of places I go the topic of conversation is 'What did you guys do with those bodies in Ionia?'”
This was the first time Listerman has been questioned in a public setting.
“I got to wonder as a tax payer if I die and I go there what may happen to my resting place? I mean there is a lot of talk in this county on where those people are at?”
Bussell told Fox 17 News what was done is not right, and they aren’t going to just let it go, but Listerman wanted to end the conversation right away.
“I am going to say this one more time, if there are any problems with this it should go to our lawyers. There are no bodies in there. There hasn’t been for 30 years,” said Listerman.
This is different than what Listerman told us a few weeks ago. He said he wasn’t sure if there were bodies in there or not because he never checked, but he wasn’t going to disrupt a tomb to find out for sure.
“I am not going to break into a tomb, there is no reason to. If there is bodies in there they are nicely covered up.”
Bussell pushed back on the supervisor. He wanted to know if the family was notified before the structure came down. Listerman said the township did years and years ago, but he couldn’t identify who they notified.
Rena Broon, who claims to be a descendent of the Civil War Veteran got up in frustration after Listerman said the building was a safety hazard. She said the building was not in bad shape at all.
Listerman cut her off.
“That’s it we are not discussing it,” he said.
Bussell said they are making a concerted effort at a class action law suit against the township.
