Panama City, Bay County, Florida
Saturday, April 13, 2013
By: Kevin Earl Wood, allunited@bellsouth.net
Bay Community News has been contacted by Mr. Dale Cox of Marianna, Jackson County, Florida in regards to the planned exhumation of unmarked graves at the Dozier School for Boys. The following is the verbatim text, unedited, by Mr. Cox in his email to Bay Community News:
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“Kevin,
My position on the graves is simple:
- I do not believe that heavy equipment should have been used on a known cemetery site. The cemetery was shown on plat maps going back to 1940. There has never been any doubt that the location was a cemetery. I believe that cemeteries are sacred ground and should not be disturbed except in extremely rare circumstances and then only with a judge’s order. I believe that the work done at the Dozier Cemetery may have exceeded the language of the permit issued for it, particularly the depth of trenching that took place there and the use of heavy equipment to push up trees, brush and stumps and to move dirt around on the surface of the site.
- Because I am not a law enforcement officer or a lawyer, I expressed my concerns to Chief Baggett of the Marianna Police Department and asked for his thoughts. I believe him to be a fair, honorable and experienced law enforcement officer. Florida Statutes require that a citizen do this if they believe a human burial site may have been disturbed. Failure to do so is a violation of the law.
- Contrary to your statements, I am not leading nor am I conducting a campaign to stop the exhumations. I have said repeatedly that I support Mr. Varnadoe’s right to take home the remains of his family member and that I sympathize with his situation. The problem is that for this to happen, a large number of other graves will have to be exhumed. I do not think those graves should be dug up unless a real effort is made to locate and notify all of the families with loved ones in the cemetery.
- One of the stated goals of the exhumation request is to identify the bodies of the individuals buried at the Dozier School cemetery. To do this, DNA samples will need to be taken from as many of the families as can be found. Why not find those families, collect the DNA samples and allow them to speak – one way or the other – before moving forward with exhumations? That doesn’t seem unreasonable to me and I already have been helping the Attorney General’s office and Dr Hunter, the Medical Examiner, locate information on the graves.
- Personally, I do oppose the exhumation of the graves. But if it is going to be done, why not do it right and try to locate more than a mere 8 of the families? If the graves are exhumed without first finding the families, then dozens of young men will simply be examined and reburied without any real effort being made to identify them.
- I did not name Dr. Kimmerle in my email to Chief Baggett. By saying that I am making allegations against Dr. Kimmerle, you are putting words in my mouth instead of simply covering the facts. I don’t know who approved the use of heavy equipment at the site. I don’t know who did the deep trenching there. I don’t know if those actions exceeded the terms of the permit and violated the law. I asked the chief for his thoughts on it and indicated that if he needed more information or wanted me to sign an actual complaint, he should let me know. You have mischaracterized and published false information about my actions and intent. You should retract your story, apologize and correct it.
- I have offered to meet with all of the parties involved in the excavations at the cemetery (the Attorney General’s office, the Medical Examiner, the State Attorney’s office, the State Archaeologist and Dr. Kimmerle) to discuss and hopefully resolve my concerns in a cordial and courteous manner.
Wouldn’t you want to know if someone was going to dig up the grave of one of your family members? Would you want the cemetery where your family members are buried subjected to tree clearing using heavy equipment? Do you believe Florida law should be followed with regard to the graves of your ancestors? If so, then why support taking those rights away from others?
I understand and have no issue with Mr. Varnadoe or any other family member relocating a loved one’s body from the cemetery. I do object, however, to graves being exhumed without the families being notified. I believe most of the families likely can be found and have encouraged the Medical Examiner’s office to employ a professional genealogist to assist in that process.
If the judge approves an order to do this exhumationt (sic) (and I do not know what he will rule but have confidence he will make the proper decision according to the law), let’s make sure that it is done with respect to all of the families, with respect for the dead and with respect for the community and its citizens.
My concern over the extent of the excavations and work already done at the cemetery site is nothing new. I have been voicing the same concerns since the work there began, but no one has really listened until now. I’m not sure why it suddenly became of interest to you and other members of the media, but the least you could do is talk to me and report what I do and say in a fair and accurate way.
Dale Cox
Finally, if you want to know my thoughts or motivations, ask me. If you want to know about an action I have taken, ask me. If you want to see a document that I have entered into the public record, ask me. There is no need to make up assumptions about me or my actions. It is poor journalism.
Dale Cox”