The following article appeared in The Daily Review, Towanda, PA today. Photo available at: http://www.thedailyreview.com/data/news1/ This new story will expire about midnight tonight. The Daily Review does not maintain an on line archive. Dick McCracken Towanda, PA ----------------- News Cemetery sacked By James Loewenstein OF THE REVIEW STANDING STONE -- Vandals tipped over and broke at least 40 gravestones, including those of Civil War veterans, at the historic State Road Cemetery during an incident discovered Thursday morning. State police are investigating the incident, and cemetery officials are considering putting up a reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible. "There are many old 1850s-era gravestones that are broken and are irreplaceable," said Charles Miller, cemetery coordinator of SS. Peter and Paul's Catholic Church in Towanda, which owns the cemetery. Five American flags, which had decorated veterans' graves, were thrown into a corner of the cemetery, added Father Ron Hughes, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul's Church. The vandals "would have to be mentally sick," he said. Many of the 180 people buried in the cemetery were Irish immigrants who had come to the United States during the first half of the 19th century to dig the North Branch Canal, Miller said. The canal ran from Wilkes-Barre to the Athens/Sayre area. The vandalism was discovered Thursday morning by a local resident who saw part of a gravestone lying in the road next to the cemetery. Miller said he believes the vandalism occurred Wednesday night. Hughes said he does not know who damaged the gravestones, nor why he would have done it. The gravestones of "a couple of Civil War veterans" were among those broken, he said. Around Memorial Day, the cemetery was hit by another act of vandalism, when vandals pulled all the American flags from the graves and burned them, Miller said. Those vandals were never caught. The cemetery, located at the intersection of state Route 1012 and Cemetery Road, is one of the oldest in Bradford County, Miller said. Most of the people buried there died in the 1800s, said Henry Farley, president of the Bradford County Historical Society. "This was a blatant destruction of history," said Farley, who has ancestors buried in the cemetery. "It would take a real sick person to do something like this. People come from all over the country visit this cemetery because of the canal and their families." Residents who live near the cemetery said they believe that authorities should interview youths who were seen partying near the cemetery on Tuesday night. The residents said some of the youths appeared to be intoxicated and pounded on the side of a vehicle as it passed them on the road. The cemetery used to be overgrown with vegetation. But for the past several years, the church had been restoring it by clearing trees and brush, righting tipped gravestones, and building a fence around the cemetery that is a replica of one from the 1800s. The fence has antique-looking metal fixtures. "This is very, very disheartening after doing all the restoration work," Miller said. The cemetery "will never be the same again," Farley added. The restoration needed to address this week's vandalism will cost thousands of dollars, Miller said. Updated: 09/29/00 00:58:19 -- Plan your Work... Work Your Plan...