Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-05-23
LAWSUIT over
BURYINC GROUND
TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES DESIRE
TO ENLARGE SHAUL
CEMETERY.

A
The desire of the board of trustees
of Center township to enlarge and
beautify and preserve Shaul's ceme-
terry of South Ottumwa, one of the
Oldest burying grounds in the city, is
opposed by A. c. Leighton, who re-
Gently organized an association
known as the Grand View Cemetery
Association" of % acres, adjoining
the Shaul cemetery. Now when the
trustees of Center township start pro-
ceedings to secure five acres addition
al for the enlargement of the GENE
terry injunction proceedings have been
instituted by T. T. Forsyth, E. l.. Pat
rick, Monroe Marts, ]. F. Wellman,
M. NJ Thompson, ]. F. Knox, w. A.
Van Fossen and w. P. Van Fossen,
estopping the sheriff's jury recently
selected by Sheriff w. w. Jackson,
from assessing the damages tomorrow
as originally ordered A temporary
restraining order from Judge Yer
million prevents this proceeding at
F! this time.
The latest proceeding is that of a
petition of certiorari which has the
effect of taking that matter from the
hands of the township trusesse and
placing it in the district court.
! A. G. Leighton is the plaintiff in
the petition, he being the owner Of
all that portion of northwest X of
section 35, Township u range IA, con.
tanning 1896 acres, part of which
the township board desires to con-
denim.
Defendants in CertiorarI
Frank Gephart, Emery Wilson and H.
f. Michael, trustees Of Center town
ship, and Thomas Kirby, clerk of the
board of trustees; w. w. Jackson,
sheriff of Wapello county, and P. T..
Springer, Prior Wilson, Andrew
Jackson, Curtis Chisman, Frank Upp,
and John NJ. McElroy, the latter
named being a sheriff's jury selected
by Mr.. Jackson as a condemnation
jury.
The petition states that the descrip-
tion of the proposed five acres to be
condemned is an impossible descrip-
tion and that the land cannot be To-
Gated by the description given by the
trustees.
Land is Across Highway.
The description states that the land
is in township, range and section as
stated above and that it is the south
west corner of said land east of the
highway and adjoins the highway i'm
mediately east of Shaul's cemetery,
and of the same width as Shaul's
cemetery.
The petition Of Mr.. Leighton states
that this pretended proceeding was
followed up by pretended applica-
tion to the sheriff to select a jury and
in accordance Herewith he did so,
and that this jury, unless prevented
by stay of proceeding under an or
der issued by the court, will, on May
%, 1908, proceed to pretended as
sessment of damages to be sustained
by the condemnation of five acres of
land somewhere in the tract of land,
but as aforesaid, cannot be located
from the description given in the pro-
ceedings of the board of trustees.
Without Jurisdiction.
The petition Of Mr.. Leighton AYERS
that the board of trustees had no jur-
isdict1on and exceeded its jurisdiction,
authority and power by inaugurating
or attempting to inaugurate said con-
domination proceedings for the follow
ing reasons:
That the said board did not grant
any time to apply to the plaintiff for
the grant of said land Tor cemetery
purposes or make any effort to agree
with him in respect to compensation
for the land for cemetery purposes