Historic cemetery, school vandalized

LLANO, Texas (KXAN) - Toppled headstones, broken glass and busted door jambs are just a few of the damages Six Mile Cemetery and Six Mile School sustained earlier this month when vandals hit.

Authorities said vandals hit the neighboring historic sites, located off Ranch Road 2323 in Llano, in early December.

This has left families, who have buried loved ones there, devastated.

"Heartache, just saddened, really saddened," said Ronnie Ratliff, who buried his father in the cemetery a few years back.

"It's just heartbreaking to come out and do this kind of damage and to disrespect the property," said Jess Ratliff, a cemetery board of directors trustee.

The Ratliff cousins help care for the historic school and nearby cemetery, where there are more than 100 gravesites, some that date back more than 120 years.

"All four windows had been completely busted out, all three doors were just disarrayed, I mean, the main door was kicked through where the door jamb was knocked off and the latch was busted," Jess explained.

This $1,000 worth of damage is what the cousins cleaned up and repaired over the course of a month.

" Put a lot of hard work to keep it beautiful out here and to come out and see it tore up and it's just a lack of respect and that really hurts," Ronnie added.  "We just keep cleaning it up each time."

"You have to work twice as hard to get it cleaned up so somebody doesn't get hurt," Jess explained while gesturing to a busted door.

Clean-up took them almost a month, but they said the work isn't what they mind.

It is the disrespect of historic headstones, like one from the 1800s, that was toppled that got them angry.

"They're irreplaceable, you cant replace them. A lot of times you can't even fix them, when they're broke they're broke," Ronnie said.

The disruption in the serenity the cemetery offers grieving people upset them too.

"It's supposed to be a place to just come out and visit the folks that you have buried out here," Jess concluded.

The Ratliffs did call the police and filled out a report.

No arrests have been made in the case.

Anyone with any information regarding this crime is asked to contact  Investigator Glenn Williams with the Llano County Sheriff's Department at 800-832-9271 or Crime Stoppers to remain anonymous at 866-756-8477.

Or, crime tips can be texted to 274637, then insert "tip218" at the beginning of the message and hit send.