PLAINS TOWNSHIP -- There's a new plan in the works for a dilapidated mausoleum in Luzerne County.
Plains Township officials have now decided not to condemn the property so family members can get the chance to take over the crumbling mausoleum.
Minutes after our story first aired Thursday night, we had families of loved ones buried there contact us and some met with us on Friday. Many say while the township and funeral directors association are still working on a plan, some of them are coming up with their own.
"Almost criminal" and "disrespectful," these are the words families are using to describe the place their loved ones are supposed to be resting in peace at the Good Shepherd Memorial Gardens in Plains Township.
With chains on the door of the mausoleum and the building now closed, those who visit now say it's nothing like it used to be.
"It was a beautiful little chapel 30 years ago. It was lovely. It was peaceful. If I could move her without spending thousands of dollars I would," said Edna Gabriel whose mother is buried at Good Shepherd.
The Luzerne County Funeral Directors Association and the township are trying to help families who want their relatives moved. They have two cemeteries offering to donate lots. But that's not what everyone wants for their loved ones.
"I would like to see it restored. My mother wanted to be buried here. You lay someone to rest, it's to rest in peace. This isn't peaceful right now," said Michelle Shaffer.
Families say they are willing to take over the property. They are hoping to raise the money to buy it at a possible tax sale in September.
"It would be in better hands. I know for years my husband and brothers, our family have been coming up for years cutting grass, not only at my mother's gravesite, the whole cemetery," Shaffer said.
The owners of Good Shepherd owe more than $14,000 in back taxes for the cemetery and mausoleum. If they don't pay and respond to certified letters sent from the township, it could be sold in a tax sale.
Unable to reach the owners, families hope they get this message.
"Please do the right thing. And you know what the right thing is. We are human, humans with hearts just like you have."
Between the township, the Luzerne County Funeral Directors Association, and all the families involved, only one person was able to reach the owners.
One funeral director says he called and as soon as he mentioned he was calling about Good Shepherd, they hung up on him.
