>From this mornings Belleville News-Democrat, Posted on Thu, Jul. 25, 2002 New owners of cemeteries show cleaned-up look By Jayne Matthews [email protected] The grass is cut, the roads are repaved, and the new owners of two troubled metro-east cemeteries want to show them off. Mount Hope Cemetery in Belleville and Valley View Cemetery in Edwardsville now have Forever in front of their longtime names. Forever Enterprises, a St. Louis company that specializes in reviving derelict cemeteries, will hold a reopening ceremony Aug. 3 at Forever Valley View, 1564 Lewis Road in Edwardsville. The cemeteries came under state scrutiny in 1996, when complaints began to flood into Springfield about weed-infested grounds and missing prepaid funeral money and perpetual care funds. Under new owners since May, the two metro-east cemeteries have been in business since the sale. But the single ribbon-cutting in Edwardsville will formally observe both their rebirths, said Randy Murray, chief marketing officer. Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes, who took control of the two cemeteries from a previous owner, is expected to attend, co-owner Brent Cassity said Wednesday. A spokesman in Hynes' office said the improvements have special meaning because of the heartbroken people who complained about the neglect and deterioration of their friends' and relatives' grave sites. ``Comptroller Hynes is excited about the restoration of these two cemeteries because of the concern of these people,'' said spokesman Karen Craven. The comptroller oversees Illinois' cemeteries and funeral homes because his office must audit their trust accounts. As part of their purchase agreement, brothers Brent and Tyler Cassity must repay $182,000 plus interest to the state's Consumer Protection Fund. The fund paid that amount to Valley View and Mount Hope customers whose prepaid funeral money was not deposited in a trust account by former owner Larry Esterlen of Glen Carbon. The new owners will be allowed to pay the money over time, Craven said. The Cassitys also must restore a $227,000 perpetual care fund at both cemeteries. Forever Enterprises paid $120,000 for Mount Hope and $135,000 for Valley View. The Cassity brothers first gained attention when they restored the famous Hollywood Cemetery, next to Paramount Studios in Los Angles. Its graves include those of Rudolph Valentino, Cecil B. DeMille and Jayne Mansfield. Besides their Hollywood business, they own two cemeteries in St. Louis and one in Kansas City. Mount Hope and Valley View are their first Illinois acquisitions. A feature of Forever cemeteries -- videotaped life stories of the deceased -- was the original business that drew the brothers to acquire the cemeteries, Brent Cassity said.