Crime & Safety
Vandals Leave Pieces Behind for Cemetery to Glue Back Together
Vandalism hits Fairview Cemetery in Stillwater for the third time this summer.
in Stillwater is usually a peaceful place but that peace has been disturbed by vandals three times this year causing thousands of dollars worth of damage.
On Aug. 14, a 17-year-old Oak Park Heights teen was by a witness. The teen was arrested and is currently awaiting formal charges from the county attorney’s office, according to the police report.
“It is very irritating, we have had some vandalism in the past but we have not experienced this much damage,” Tracey Bachmeier the Superintendent of the Fairview Cemetery Association said.
Find out what's happening in Stillwaterfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
One of the headstones that was damaged is worth $15,000 dollars and is more than hundred years old, Bachmeier said.
The headstone is extremely hard to recreate. The marble is hard to work with and the cemetery would have to find a craftsman that could duplicate the hand-engraving work on the stone, according to Bachmeier.
Find out what's happening in Stillwaterfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The cemetery spent $1,925 to have the headstone glued back together with a type of epoxy. They were unable to save the top of the headstone.
Earlier this summer vandals tipped over other headstones costing $275 in damages.
The association has explored options on how to prevent vandalism like locking the gates of the cemetery but that would prevent the police from patrolling the cemetery and it could lead to more vandalism, Bachmeier said.
Vandalism in the cemetery dates back to 2001.
In 2008, vandals broke pots and tipped over headstones. Four people were caught, according to Stillwater Police Sgt. Jeff Stender.
“Unfortunately it happens, it’s not frequent but it is disturbing," Stillwater Police Chief John Gannaway said. “They are desecrating something a lot of people hold sacred.”
All the stones have been put back in place with epoxy but the scars of the vandalism still remain.
The Oak Park Heights teen that was caught on Aug. 14 was booked and released on felony criminal damage to property, illegal molestation of a cemetery, underage consumption and disorderly conduct, according to the police report.
