Wednesday, April 22, 2009 | 2:01 a.m.
Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery
Beyond the Sun
Two state agencies are investigating how headstones from the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City ended up at a private residence.
The state Office of Veterans Services, which oversees the cemetery and the Nevada State Veterans Home, is investigating the matter, spokesman Bill DiBenedetto said. The attorney general’s office also is investigating.
The probes were launched after KLAS-TV Channel 8 reported that 77 headstones that were set aside for disposal had been used to build a patio at the Boulder City home of cemetery employee Kevin Jenicke and his wife, Tami, who works at the veterans home.
Tami Jenicke, speaking from her house Tuesday, declined comment, saying the Office of Veterans Services had asked her not to talk to the media. “I want to respect that,” she said.
All of the headstones have been returned, said DiBenedetto, who declined to say how the headstones were removed or which private residence they had been taken to.
Office of Veterans Services Deputy Director Carole Turner also declined to discuss details of the investigation.
The headstones were to be disposed of because they contained incorrect or incomplete information, DiBenedetto said.
“This really was a mistake,” DiBenedetto said. “We are taking corrective actions so this does not ever happen again.”
He said he expected the personnel investigation to be completed in one or two more weeks.
“This has devastated our agency staff. This thing has just crushed them,” DiBenedetto said.
A spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office confirmed it is investigating the matter but would not give an estimate of how long it would take.
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