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Truck crash closes I-81 south in Scranton

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Linda Armstrong copes with 9/11 every year

<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; A district judge Thursday ruled in favor of a Pittston woman attempting to claim $12,000 from the owners of a neglected cemetery on Westminster Road.</p><p>But Elaine Guarnieri Zambetti said she remains hurt and disturbed.</p><p>Zambetti filed a civil suit in July against Good Shepherd Memorial Park owners Lawrence Lee and Viktoria Evstafieva, of Ormond Beach, Florida, seeking compensation to cover the cost of moving her father&#8217;s remains from the mausoleum to another cemetery in the Back Mountain.</p><p>Plains Township code enforcement office condemned the mausoleum June 4 due to its dilapidated condition. Large sections of the concrete roof that overhang benches have collapsed and water damage inside the structure is visible through glass doors.</p><p>The rest of the cemetery along Westminster Road has been neglected with tall grass and weeds covering most of the flat grave markers. Overgrown shrubs cover the front entrance sign and faded American flags remain at the burial plots of military veterans.</p><p>When Lee and Evstafieva failed to appear for the hearing, District Judge Diana Malast ruled in favor of Zambetti.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not going to get too elated at this point because they have a right to appeal,&#8221; Zambetti said.</p><p>Lee and Evstafieva have 30 days to appeal Malast&#8217;s ruling in Luzerne County Court before the judgment becomes final.</p><p>&#8220;My ultimate goal is to shed light on this mausoleum,&#8221; Zambetti said. &#8220;Hopefully, we can get other family members to get their family members&#8217; bodies out of there and moved to a final resting place that should have happened already.&#8221;</p><p>Zambetti is not alone in her concern about the neglected cemetery and its owners.</p><p>Catherine Whitman and Denise Kumor said dealing with the cemetery owners has been a nightmare.</p><p>&#8220;My mother&#8217;s husband is buried there and she is also supposed to be buried there,&#8221; Whitman said about her 83-year-old mother. &#8220;Her wishes are to be with her husband. I&#8217;ve been dealing with this for three years. When my mother found out, she went to visit her husband and she was told the cemetery is closed down. Her wishes are to be with her husband. My mother is in very bad condition now.&#8221;</p><p>Kumor said both her parents are entombed in the mausoleum.</p><p>Because the mausoleum has been condemned, she is unable to remove their bodies to a final resting place.</p><p>&#8220;I worry everyday what&#8217;s going to happen to that structure where my parents are,&#8221; Kumor said. &#8220;This is terrible. This is one big nightmare.&#8221;</p><p>The property is listed in Luzerne County&#8217;s Sept. 24 back-tax auction.</p><p>According to county records, Lee and Evstafieva owe $15,455 in unpaid taxes dating back to 2010. Lee purchased the property at a tax sale in 2005 for $4,500.</p><p>Zambetti said when she met with the owners in 2009, they denied taking responsibility because they had no idea they purchased the cemetery in 2005.</p><p>&#8220;Nobody buys property unless you know what you are buying and they are saying they didn&#8217;t know they bought a cemetery,&#8221; Whitman said.</p><p>Phone numbers for Lee and Evstafieva in Florida could not be located.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Part of the roof of the mausoleum at Good Shepherd Memorial Park in Road Plains Township has collapsed. Posted on the building is a sign stating that it is unsafe. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_TTL091115mausoleum-.jpg</photo0><caption0>Part of the roof of the mausoleum at Good Shepherd Memorial Park in Road Plains Township has collapsed. Posted on the building is a sign stating that it is unsafe. </caption0><photoCredit0>Clark Van Orden | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Ed Lewis</p><p>elewis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Ed Lewis at 570-991-6116 or on Twitter @TLEdLewis</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Judgment made against owners of dilapidated Plains Township cemetery