I'm glad they were arressted but should not have all of them been arrested for trespassing?

Your landlord is right a cemetary is pretty quiet and make the best neighbors. It could be worse..........Lots of my neighbors build fires in firepits and drink and get high and sing all the time. The police do nothing except once in a while, tell them that firepits are illegal. No one has been fined yet.

That would totally freak me out. Hopefully, since some of them were arrested they won't be back?? Keep us updated, k?

Also, sending you hugs to deal with the "split". If you ever need to vent, you know how to reach me and I would be glad to listen.

My house is right across the street from a cemetery. In the 3 years since I bought my house, I have had absolutely no problems with it. I have seen a lot of burials from my living room window.

That old a cemetery would be so interesting to walk through. But I think I'd take my walk when the drunks weren't around! I hope you enjoy your apt. I'm sorry to
read of the reason you moved, however. I know it's not easy. Look forward to reading more of these 'adventures' with the new neighbors!

We lived across the street from a cemetery when my kids were little. DD#2 learned to ride her bike there. Nice paved roads and very limited traffic. Her friends all say "that explains alot about her", LOL!

Sorry it takes me so long to come back to the table,my work schedule is so messed up right now.
This is the story of the cemetery as I know it.Back in the early years of the 1800's there was a couple that donated their property to members of the church to bury family members that could not afford to be buried in a regular cemetery.Well part of the property was where my apt. buildings sit,so that is why it is right out front of my apt.Many years had passed as did most of the family members and the land was left to the church.They say they don't have the funds to keep up the grounds(isn't that what church members are for to volunteer?).Well like I said about 2 maybe 3 months ago this cemetery got all kinds of publicity and that is why I now believe that it is so popular.
Honestly I remember when I was about 13 we use to go to a cemetery and listen to ghost stories told by the grounds keeper.But we never sat there and got high or drunk.It was sort of a history lesson about the famous people of the city and township we were from.Here is the article from our local paper.I sure hope it comes up.Vandalism, neglect haunt hidden cemetery
CORTNEY CASEY C & G Staff Writer
Published: August 20, 2008
Despite being yards away from bustling Hayes and directly adjacent to a sprawling apartment complex, St. Paul Cemetery feels like it's in a whole other world. Nestled within a forest off of 18 Mile, the tiny clearing contains more than 50 gravestones dating as far back as the 1880s.

Several graves are elaborately marked with tall, slender stones, some bearing inscriptions in German. A handful of names appear repeatedly among the markers, suggesting the presence of entire families.

Among those buried there is John Beutel, who received a new headstone recognizing his Civil War service in 2005, after his great-greatgrandson researched his military heritage.

It's a fascinating slice of local history - but one that some residents fear has been forgotten.

Jerry Sieja, a member of the Sterling Heights Historical Commission, has been visiting the graveyard since the 1970s, when he rode his bike through the woods as a child. A couple affiliated with St. Paul Lutheran Church on Hayes, which owns the cemetery, used to care for it, but they're now deceased, he said.

Over the last several years, the cemetery has been infrequently mowed and headstones have cracked and toppled, said Sieja, who still stops by three or four times annually.

In recent weeks, someone has propped some crumbling headstones against trees, but Sieja said they're often lying on the ground.

Faint remnants of graffiti mark the sides of some graves, and litter dots the landscape.

"That's really ironic - you've got a McDonald's cup and an American flag," Sieja said, gesturing to a discarded soft drink container beside a veteran's headstone.

The encroaching forest blurs the cemetery's boundaries, concealing several graves that have virtually disappeared into the underbrush. The country road that once led through the trees from Hayes is overgrown, now a mere path.

"It's bad enough the cemetery isn't being taken care of, but you can't get back here," said Sieja.

Frances McDonald, a resident of nearby Ashgrove Apartments, often walks by the cemetery with her dogs and said she gets "aggravated" by the site's condition.

Up until early August, when someone finally cut the grass, the graveyard was unkempt since she moved in a year ago, she said. She tried to reposition the fallen headstones, she added, but they were too heavy.

"It's like people have forgotten them," McDonald said of the deceased. "It's sad, because nobody has taken care of it. It's sad to think these people are gone, and nobody cares."

McDonald said teenagers take advantage of the cemetery's seclusion to drink and smoke. Another neighbor said he believes Internet postings, touting the locale as "haunted," have attracted curious youngsters.

The Reverend Walter Keller, St.

Paul's pastor, said he's equally dismayed by the constant cycle of vandalism, which hampers the church's maintenance efforts.

"They knock over headstones; they spray-paint headstones," he said.

"We're kind of at their mercy."

A former parishioner who owned a tow truck used to replace overturned markers, but the nearly complete disappearance of the access road from Hayes has derailed those efforts while increasing the site's appeal to loiterers, said Keller.

"As it is now, it's a perfect spot for kids to hang out unseen," he said.

"You can't have a 24-hour guard in there, unfortunately."

Sterling Heights Police Lt.

Robert Henigan urged anyone witnessing suspicious activity in the cemetery to call police. Graveyard vandalism falls within specific regulations under malicious destruction of property, he said, and depending on suspects' prior record and the amount of damage, the offense could range from a 90-day misdemeanor to a 10-year felony.

Keller said the church commissions its lawn maintenance company to mow the grass in the cemetery a couple of times a year, and scouts also lend a hand, occasionally.

"Unfortunately, it takes money to stay on top of things, and to be honest with you, we don't have it," he said. "Keeping the grass down is one thing, but when headstones are getting tipped over and everything, it's impossible to keep up with."

Michael Bartholomew, Sterling's city development director, building official and assistant city manager, said code enforcement officers have had contact with the church in the past after receiving complaints about the cemetery's condition.

Bartholomew said he believes the church has always complied with letters requesting the grass be mowed or the headstones be righted.

As Sterling Heights has no specific ordinances addressing cemetery maintenance, the site falls under the city's general property maintenance code, he said.

"If there were headstones knocked over or somebody dumped junk or debris, much like any piece of property, we would contact the owner and ask them to make the correction," said Bartholomew. "It hasn't really been - at least that I'm aware of - a big problem."

Sterling Heights Public Services Manager Denice Gerstenberg said the city currently handles maintenance of two cemeteries - one off of Saal Road and one off of Plumbrook - because the people originally affiliated with the graveyards are no longer living.

"That was because sometimes an entity owns them and they're so old, and perhaps that church disbanded or the people who used to own it all died," she said. "There's really no procedures in place to (do) anything with those parcels."

In this case, as St. Paul Lutheran owns the property, the church is responsible for the upkeep, she said.

Michigan's Cemetery Regulation Act contains a provision requiring agents selling entombment rights to maintain an irrevocable endowment care fund, fueled by a percentage of gross proceeds, for "all general work necessary to keep the cemetery property in a presentable condition at all times," including grass cutting "at reasonable intervals" and maintenance of trees and shrubs to ensure access. However, cemeteries owned and operated by municipalities, churches or religious institutions are exempt from the act.

According to Keller, an original member of the congregation donated a piece of his farmland to the church for the cemetery. In his 16 years as St.

Paul's pastor, Keller said, there's only been one burial there.

Additional volunteer assistance, if coordinated properly, might make a difference in the property's maintenance, he said.

Regardless of how it happens, Sieja hopes the tiny, hidden gem will someday get the attention he feels it deserves.

"If you show people that you care about it," he said, "they're not going to vandalize it, and they're not going to be coming back here (with ill intentions) like they've been coming back here."

Well guess what there's a new watch dog on duty and she ain't gonna go for no one messin with what ain't theirs to mess with.

Hopefully it'll all calm down after Halloween is over, Mrs. Micki. Personally, having had the neighbors from Hell before, I would love a cemetary next door if I had to choose.

It's good to know there's a new watch dog on the job!

My sister used to live across the street from a cemetery. She had no problems with the cemetery, but local gangs really bothered her and her family. They broke in once and poured beer on the rugs, used to call on the phone and threaten the entire family with harm. She finally sold and moved to another town.