EDITOR’S NOTE: On Friday, August 25 we reported a story on restricted access to Pointview Cemetery near Eastend, Saskatchewan. In the story we stated the longtime entrance, now blocked, was on land owned by the Arendt family. To clarify the land in question is jointly assessed to Cory and Monty Arendt. We regret any misunderstanding.
Tucked away in the rolling hills of Southern Saskatchewan lies Point View Cemetery. The people buried there are parents, siblings, cousins and longtime friends, and almost all of the 500 people in neighbouring Eastend, Sask. have a connection.
The serenity of Point View masks a conflict in the community. The cemetery is built on land owned by a local committee, but the main gate is on private land.
The Arendt family owns the land where the gate lies, and they have blocked access using equipment, and a no trespassing sign that someone later vandalized.
It’s particularly upsetting to Clifford Arnal who has over 10 family members buried in the cemetery, including three young sons.
“It’s the last place that you remember seeing the people you love,” Arnal said.
“It’s not a good scene at all.”
He’s on the Point View Cemetery Committee, trying to fix the problem.
Originally, access was granted when the cemetery was developed in the 1930’s. The then-landowner traded title to the land for cemetery plots, but it was never properly recorded.
“It was never put on a caveat or on a lien on the property agreement, it never transferred ownership,” White Valley RM Reeve James Leroy said.
Leroy chalks it up to a disagreement between two neighbours.
“We’ve tried to communicate. We have offered in one point in time to purchase the property to see if that would allow access, and they chose not to sell,” Leroy said.
In the meantime, the committee with help from the RM has built a temporary access.
“Everyone has morals and ethics and if you’re going to block off a cemetery, you don’t have much.”
The RM promises to help build a safer access.
For Clifford Arnal, it’s going to take a long time to let go of the situation.
“I guess time heals things, but I don’t know if this is a good thing to let time heal,” Arnal said.
Global News reached out to the Arendt family, but they didn’t respond to any requests to do an interview.