‘Hopefully it’ll get better;’ Community reacts after Trotwood gains control over troubled cemetery

TROTWOOD — The City of Trotwood has been granted a preliminary injunction against Bear Creek-Hillgrove Cemetery, and those with family members buried there hope to see changes.

Jene Schoonover periodically visits his family at the cemetery. Like many others, he has had problems while paying his respects.

>> RELATED: ‘This is the first step;’ City of Trotwood gains control over troubled cemetery

“There was a tree growing up in here I took a pix axe and dug it out,” Schoonover said.

To keep him and others from doing stuff like that, the City of Trotwood has been granted a court order to handle operations and maintenance of the cemetery with plans to restore it to the level of other cemeteries nearby.

“I’ve got a nephew at a cemetery in Centerville – its pristine all the time you come here and its like holy crap what’s going on,” Schoonover said.

>> RELATED: City of Trotwood files lawsuit to gain control of troubled cemetery

The city plans to temporarily close Bear Creek to make those repairs and no new burials will be allowed.

People have also spent hundreds of dollars for arrangements that have never been fulfilled, and the city plans to honor those payments.

Within the next 90 to 120 days, the city expects a court order transferring the title of the cemetery to them while continuing to work on reopening Bear Creek.

“Hopefully it’ll get better, once they get some management it’ll be fine,” Schoonover said.

The city said caring for the cemetery is just the first step in making this a place where the souls buried there can be honored.

©2023 Cox Media Group