IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Johnson County officials say a proposed paranormal investigation at the county poor farm and asylum needs more review.
County supervisors said negative reaction by the public is leading them to take another look at whether to allow the Carroll Area Paranormal Team to inspect the site.
"I've got a sense that we may just say, 'You know what, we're not going to go through with this because it's a hassle we don't need," said supervisors Chairman Rod Sullivan.
He said the supervisors didn't think allowing the inspection to move forward was a big deal, but that "it's stirred up a hornet's nest."
Sullivan said the supervisors will revisit the topic at a meeting April 9.
No one has seen ghosts at the site, but the Johnson County Historical Society requested the inspection of the 160-acre site. The group gives tours of the buildings, which is now called Chatham Oaks, a facility that houses people with physical and mental disabilities.
The board of directors for Chatham Oaks sent an e-mail to county supervisors expressing their opposition to the ghost hunt.
"We were concerned about any negative stigma it could bring to individuals with mental illness," said Vivian Davis, executive director.
Brandon Cochran, museum operations assistant for the historical society, has said that one of the most common questions from people who tour the 153-year-old building is whether it's haunted. He said there have not been any reports of paranormal activity at the site.
"We were approached, we didn't see it as a harmful request, we passed it on," he said.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/p ... S/80402008
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
