KIDS page 3
FORGOTTEN page 3
father doesn't have perpetual care,
they said they may not be able to
do anything," he said.
David Techner of Ira Kaufman
Funeral Chapel said Goldstein's
decision to not pay for perpetual
care was the right one; without a
sprinkler system, regular flower
planting and regular mowing,
there's no reason to spend the
money.
"They have a burial, put dirt on
top and a great big mound of dirt
and then you return a
month later and
there've been cave-ins
of the earth. Often-
times you can see the
vault. They have no
sense of dignity in
terms of managing this
part of the cemetery.
Oakland Hills is a
moneymaker; this
[B'nai Israel] is the
ugly stepsister," he
said.
The less-than-perfect condition
of B'nai Israel has been a sore spot
for many families Techner has
served. He said he's got a list of
100 graveplots to sell from people
who bought at the cemetery.
"I've worked on this issue for
the last five years. This is what
you call a real donnybrook, and
the reason I refer to it as a don-
nybrook is that the condition of
the cemetery is reprehensible —
more so the Jewish section," he
said.
He told a particularly disturb-
ing anecdote: A family disinterred
the caskets of six family members
and moved them to Adat Shalom
Memorial Park because B'nai Is-
rael buried a relative in the wrong
grave. The cemetery picked up the
cost of the disinterrment and the
reburial.
Jonathan Doi finan of Alan H.
Dorfman Funeral Direction,
which performs about 5
percent of its funerals
at B'nai Israel, said he
0
has received complaints
from families about the
cemetery, such as peo-
ple being buried in the
wrong grave.
"We've got notices on
our board from five peo-
ple who want to sell
plots they bought for
$295," the cost of a plot
when B'nai Israel was
created.
Ten or so years ago, when Oak-
land Hills decided to create a Jew-
ish section of the cemetery, B'nai
Israel sold dirt-cheap plots and
showed a blueprint of the ceme-
tery that included a beautiful sign
at the entrance. Since then, noth-
ing has been done in accordance
with the original plan, Techner
said.
At the time B'nai Israel was cm-
Tw
yea rs
with no
gra ss
on the
gra ye.
DESIGNS IN DECORATOR
LAMINATES, LTD.
ated, Machpelah Cemetery in Fer-
ndale was close to being full and
only Congregation Shaarey Zedek
members could buy plots at Clover
Hill Memorial Park in Birming-
ham. Adat Shalom and Beth El
memorial parks in Livonia had
space, "but other than that, it
seemed to be good timing for a
new cemetery. It happens to be
not a bad location and a nice piece
of property if somebody would pay
an ounce of attention to it," Tech-
ner said.
Cemetery sales manager Gary
Eppolito said he tries to take care
of customers, and in fact, has
signed seven work orders in re-
sponse to Goldstein's complaints
about the lack of grass and the
mud-spattered marker. He sug-
gested that wild animals or geese
have eaten the grass seed or that
the grave's incline causes the seed
to be washed away in the rain.
But late last week, Eppolito
said he would see to it that some
of the topsoil at William Gold-
stein's gravesite was removed and
the marker raised to level the
grave.
However, he said, the grounds
supervisor is really the person in
charge of maintaining the
gravesites. In the future, he said,
he will refer angry customers to
him.
Ultimately, however, the real
problem is that people unreason-
Although he complains about
ably expected a "mature ground"
the hefty class sizes at Cass (of-
within a year, Eppolito said.
"It's probably the last new ten numbering 35 students per
cemetery dedicated to Jewish in- class), which he feels made the
terment in the area. I think there transition to high school chal-
are a lot of things people are over- lenging, Schenk feels the school
looking. There's nothing else out is a place where what you learn
in the northwest location. People "depends on how much work you
don't consider that the property put in as a student."
Schenk argues that, contrary
could've been used for some other
to the belief of many suburban-
use," he said.
Of the 2,042 spaces near the ites, there is little violence at his
"Tree of Life" sculpture at the alma mater. "I never saw a gun
opening of the park, half are sold, or knives while I was at Cass," he
said. 'There were never shootings
Eppolito said.
Rabbi Boruch Levin, director of at Cass or any school function
Hebrew Memorial Chapel, be- that I know of. I never feared for
lieves families may have bought t lny safety at Cass."
For Schenk, whose family is ac-
in B'nai Israel because of the rel-
atively low cost of a plot without tive in Congregation Tchiyah, be-
ing Jewish at Cass was not a
figuring in additional costs.
Area cemeteries charge be- problem. "There was no anti-
tween $600 and $1,250 for a plot, Semitism, but I also didn't go
but some cemeteries, like B'nai Is- around announcing that I was
rael, charge more for grave mark- Jewish," he said, adding that he
ers and opening and closing costs. knew of only three other Jewish
At B'nai Israel, the typical cost students in the school — "the
of a plot is $900, which includes most secular Jews you will find."
Schenk's father, Alan, a law
seeding and keeping the grave lev-
el. Opening and closing costs are professor at Wayne State Uni-
$925, and flower planting is $75 versity, says he and his wife, Bet-
ty, have no regrets about sending
to $85 per year.
The average opening and dos- their three children to Detroit
ing cost is $700 at other area Public Schools for elementary and
cemeteries. A one-time fee for per- high school.
"We think they got a different
petual care, which means flower
planting at most Jewish cemeter- kind of education at Cass Tech,"
ies, runs between $700 and
KIDS page 26
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