HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. (WTVF) — Ever since Heather Hayes had to bury her son Jeremy, she's been buried in grief.
"He was 24 when he died. He was my best friend in the world," said Hayes through tears.
But Hayes claims the state of her son's cemetery has made the hardest chapter of her life even worse.
"His headstone sat behind their work shed for two weeks," she said.
Hayes says once they finally put out Jeremy's marker, it was done haphazardly.
"They just literally sat it down on top of the mound of dirt," said Hayes.
That's not the only issue reported at Green Hill Memorial Gardens in Hopkinsville. Carolyn Paige, who has her daughter buried out at the cemetery, showed us sunken graves and headstones along with uncut grass.
"It’s just disrespectful — and they know it and the whole community knows it," said Paige. "The grass was so tall when we came out there that day...We weed-eated it all."
Paige claims it was in an even worse state before word spread that NewsChannel 5 was looking into doing a story.
"For the last week, when they’ve heard the threat of Channel 5 News coming, they’ve had people out here everywhere, every day," said Paige.
But Jessica Redding, who also has family buried there, says the other families aren't giving the owners of Green Hill enough credit.
"Every time I’ve been out here, somebody has been out here busting their butts," said Redding. "They’re doing their best to keep this thing as good as they can get it. They have been out here, I know, 12 to 15 hours a day especially when it’s one person."
NewsChannel 5 spoke to one of the co-owners of Green Hill Memorial Gardens over the phone. She insists they're just a small family operation and have dealt with recent equipment failure and their own recent death in the family. They vow to hire more employees out at the cemetery to help upkeep the grounds.
She also claims they aren't "evil or horrible people" and promised to repair the graves that have sunken into the ground.
"There’s always an excuse for something," argued Hayes.
Heather is among 12 other individuals who have reached out to NewsChannel 5 for this story, lamenting over conditions out at Green Hill Memorial Gardens. They seem eager for action, not just promises.
"Stop thinking about the money and think about the people’s feelings. Think about what they’re already going through," said Hayes.
