WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
A Saginaw area woman is taking action to fight moles that have infested her son’s gravesite.
Joyce Petrie told MLive that the moles have burrowed into the soil at St. Andrews Cemetery, creating shallow tunnels along the gravesite of her son, John Petrie.
“I paid a lot of money for that site there and I want to be buried there, but the area he is in is disgraceful,” Petrie said. “Had I known that we wouldn’t have put them there.”
Petrie said she has reached out to the cemetery’s leaders and the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw, which oversees the cemetery.
She said she has had the topsoil dug up and has used poison to get rid of the moles. She also hired someone else to address the problem and forwarded the bill to St. Andrews and the Catholic Diocese.
“I feel the grass is my responsibility but their responsibility is the moles and the weeds,” she said. “I’m mortified at the way it is being kept up and I can’t get anyone to answer me.”
A St. Andrews employee declined to comment on the issue. Diocese spokesman Chris Pham said it is working to resolve the problem.
“There are a number of steps we have already taken to address her concerns because we know how important this is,” Pham said. “Unfortunately, dealing with pests takes time, and the area surrounding the site of concern needs to be addressed as well.”
John Petrie died about four years ago when he was 50 years old. (AP)
