CLOVER, S.C. — Family members in Clover, South Carolina said they wanted to bury Laura Dorsey's mother in the main part of Woodside Cemetery but were told the area was full. They ended up buying plots across the street, but because that area slopes downward, they said there are issues with standing water every time it rains.
One family member, Christian Oglesby, voiced his concern about the condition of his grandmother's burial plot.
"I'm from the low country, I'm very familiar with erosion, soil, flooding, I know what this is," he told WCNC Charlotte's Jane Monreal. "I know over time -- it's not going to be this year. It might not be next year. But if nothing is done about this, those caskets will come out of the ground."
Oglesby's aunt, Laura Dorsey, whose grandparents are also buried in Woodside Cemetery, said her mother always expressed she wanted to be laid to rest there as well. She brought up issues with the town of Clover in 2019.
"It's been a concern from the get-go, at burial," Dorsey said. "Just the flooding, the condition of the gravesite, the area. We couldn't even put her marker down for a while because the flooding was so bad... My mom deserves better and anyone else that's buried at this spot. She was the sweetest person on the planet, and she deserves so much better than what she's getting."
Dorsey said she wants the town, which owns the land, to fix it. Her father, who bought the plot next to her mother, is now in hospice care.
"We definitely don't think anybody else should be laid to rest here," Dorsey said.
Oglesby said on Wednesday morning the area was in decent shape after days without rain. However, he said a summer thunderstorm is all that is needed in order to see the four-year-old ditch is barely effective when it comes to helping alleviate any standing water.
"We've got photos of the standing water," Oglesby said. "And you can see the red clay deposits on top of the markers after a good rain."
Clover Town Mayor Greg Holmes agreed to meet Oglesby on-site.
"When water gets underneath the casket, it'll eventually rise up out of the soil," Oglesby explained to the mayor. "This ditch doesn't do anything for the cemetery."
Holmes told WCNC Charlotte that hearing directly from the family is an important step in trying to fix the situation.
"I think the purpose of the ditch is to make sure we don't have standing water on any graves," Holmes said. "I think, at the time, when it was first built, we did have standing water. I have yet to hear anything in three years of any standing water."
Holmes also offered an explanation as to why Dorsey's mother's grave marker was on an angle.
"When they don't compact that dirt, over time, they will move," he said.
Holmes said he plans to take any new insight back to the town administrator to see where they go from here. In the meantime, he acknowledged that they need to remove extra materials and the pile of gravel.
Oglesby said he would like to see an outside company do a survey of the area to see what actually needs to be done to deal with stormwater.
Contact Jane Monreal at jmonreal@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.