Family wants answers after finding damaged gravesite in St. Paris

The family of a Korean War veteran from the village of St. Paris is demanding answers after finding his grave — and several others — damaged following a recent burial.

Elsie Windle, a resident of the village, said she had recently come to the Evergreen Cemetery to decorate the gravestone of her husband, Pvt. 1st Class Everett Paul Windle, for the Easter holiday.

But when she arrived, she found dirt and tire tracks all over her husband’s grave.

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“It’s kind of sad to come out and it looks like he was buried in a field or something,” she said.

Damage also had been caused to other gravestones in the area, she said, leaving some leaning at angles and others torn out of the ground. Deep tire tracks were also left across the cemetery.

St. Paris Mayor Brenda Cook said the damage was caused when a backhoe entered the grounds to excavate a new grave site.

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“Everyone feels bad,” she said.

Cook said the ground in the cemetery was very soft due to heavy rains around the time of the excavation. She said workers set down boards to prevent the damage but the equipment went off track.

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