This was in the "Citizens Voice" newspaper. I think (but am not positive) that the cemetery they are speaking of is in Luzerne county. I thought it might be of interest to everyone. People with loved ones buried in Good Shepherd Memorial Park in Plains Township are planning to put their heads together to see what their options are. "I've been trying to get people together for the past three or four years," said Charles Alfano. He goes to Good Shepherd every week to visit his parents' crypts. While there on Memorial Day, Alfano got to talking to a woman from Old Forge who told him how concerned she and her husband were about the state of the cemetery. Alfano was going to contact Ann Grudzinski, who has also been trying to get something done about the cemetery, but she contacted him first. They decided to hold the meeting for all those who have concerns about Good Shepherd at Alfano's shop, Heavenly Ham, on Kidder Street in Wilkes-Barre on June 6 at 6 p.m. "We would just like to talk to the people and see what they would like us to do," Alfano said. Grudzinski, Alfano and many others have contacted and filed complaints with various organizations and agencies, seeking advice and assistance, but with limited success. Grudzinski has been contacting people who have plots at Good Shepherd, and said she is also trying to find a lawyer who is willing to volunteer an hour of his or her time to tell the people what their rights are. "We're asking if there's any attorney out there who can help us by giving us an hour of his or her time and giving us an idea of what we can do," Grudzinski said. "We don't know where to go. We don't know what kind of legal rights we have." Grudzinski's main issue is holding Good Shepherd's current owner, Larry Deminski, accountable for extra money she feels he has taken unfairly from people, particularly senior citizens, over the years. "Like a man who put out money for a stone seven years ago who never got it," she gave as an example. Grudzinski is also worried about where the money would go when Deminski sells the cemetery, and whether the perpetual care fund would be restored. A public auction, scheduled for May 31, was postponed. Instead, the Glenn Geyer Auction Co. is taking sealed bids only for the 6.98- acre property, with a minimum price of $300,000. Alfano said he is concerned about who buys the cemetery, and whether it would be possible to develop the extra acreage. "There's no potential for anybody to buy it," Alfano said. "There's no crypts left for sale - the ones there, who's going to buy them in the condition it's in?" The mausoleum needs cleaning, but with the electricity cut off on the property, vacuuming is impossible, so people have been trying to keep it swept as best they can in an attempt to make it presentable. "My parents lived in a house they kept immaculate," Alfano said. "They don't deserve to be resting in a place like this." ©The Citizens Voice 2003