INNISFAIL – Members of Innisfail town council received an update from staff last week on the unprecedented vandalism incident at the historic Innisfail Cemetery that resulted in a reported 100 tombstones being deliberately toppled and an unknown number damaged.
As council was updated on Oct. 17, staff was still at the cemetery probing the grounds to determine the precise number of tombstones that were vandalized.
In the meantime, members of council were outraged at the scope of the destruction, believed to be the worst of its kind in the 124-year-old history of the cemetery.
“I was out Friday (Oct. 14) taking a look and there were people out there and some Saturday and Sunday. It's terrible. It's terrible,” said Town of Innisfail Mayor Jean Barclay. “I don't know who would do something like that but hopefully they will be caught.”
As of last week, Innisfail RCMP was continuing its investigation to find the culprits who committed the vandalism, with the support of local community peace officers.
The incident is believed to have occurred sometime during either the evening of Oct. 12 or the early morning hours of Oct. 13 when one or more individuals entered the cemetery located along Lakewood Drive and toppled about 100 tombstones in the site’s older, east-side treed section.
Since news of the vandalism was widely posted on social media and later published in print media, the municipality received dozens of inquiries from concerned citizens about the state of a loved one’s final resting place.
“We have had quite a few phone calls since Friday (Oct. 14), upwards of up to 60. Mostly it’s just people asking what plots their family members are in so they can check to see if there was damage,” said Erica Vickers, the town’s director of corporate services.
Steven Kennedy, the town’s direction of operational services, said town staff would remain at the cemetery until at least Oct. 19 to assess the areas that were vandalized. He added families of the deceased with damaged tombstones would be notified.
“Unfortunately, I don't have an update on exactly what the numbers are but we will be able to come back to you with more of an idea of how many were tipped over and how many have actually been vandalized to a state where they need to be either repaired or replaced,” said Kennedy.
Barclay wanted to know about the challenges the municipality could face in tracking down and informing families of damaged older tombstones that were installed up to four generations ago.
“Unfortunately, the only information we have to go on is the information that was given to us when that plot was purchased. They normally do give a next of kin information but if that was 50 years ago it may or may not be (possible),” said Vickers, who was then asked about the responsibility of repairs and cost.
“It is not an insurable item that we insure,” said Vickers. “Unfortunately, our bylaw does state it would be the responsibility of the owner or the family of the plot.”
Barclay countered that if no family could be found to accept responsibility for repairs and cost the Town of Innisfail “could not leave” the tombstones in a broken state.
Todd Becker, the town’s chief administrative officer, said the town ought to gather all appropriate information and report back to council on the question of what to do with the broken state of tombstones if families can’t be located.
“I think in my own view we want that proper acknowledgement of grave sites, and is it a cost to the town? I don't know; maybe community or town or partnership or something. But let's see what we have first before we get into those discussions,” said Becker.
