GILLETTE - Mount Pisgah Cemetery board member Rita Mashak said she would be willing to resign if all other members did the same in an effort to address the issues hounding the cemetery.

"I've been on this board for two and a half years," Mashak said during Wednesday's heavily attended board meeting. "It has been a little unfunctioning for the last year and a half, and it has been accelerating."

Mashak said she filed a formal complaint with the Wyoming attorney general and the Campbell County attorney on Monday regarding how the board operates.

Several members of the community attended Wednesday's meeting to voice their displeasure over the recent firing of two employees and air other concerns.

Wendy Clements and Danielle Record were let go on June 11 and June 18, respectively, during closed executive sessions.

Clements read a grievance that she is filing with the board, while Record did the same under the representation of Christine Nelson, a relative. Both former employees said they were wrongfully released. The two also cited instances of maltreatment by board members and several cemetery employees.

Nelson said that on March 26, Record was verbally and physically assaulted by board member Christina Maycock, the former cemetery supervisor. Record reported the incident to Gillette police "but didn't press charges because she didn't want to lose her job," Nelson said as she read from Record's grievance letter. Additional alleged occurrences of maltreatment were presented by Record and Clements through grievance letters to the board, each requesting that their jobs be reinstated.

Several community members spoke at the meeting, recommending that Record and Clements be reinstated. Among those was Gary Welper, who a year ago had difficulty with the board concerning his father's grave, which he said went without sod from July to November after dogs dug at the ground.

After the new district supervisor, Doug Dinsmoore, was hired, Welper said he was pleased with the progress made at the cemetery. But he is concerned that the board is overstepping its bounds and firing people who are dedicated workers.

Welper said he is worried that Dinsmoore, too, may be fired.

"Why not leave them alone and let them do their job?" Welper said. "I hope other families don't have to go through what my family has gone through. That's why I'm doing this. We've been through a lot with this cemetery that nobody should have to go through."

After the meeting, Dinsmoore said he is fearful of losing his job. According to him, most of these issues began after he fired Maycock's daughter, Jill Tutor. Directly following his actions, Dinsmoore said Record and Clements were dismissed by the board.

"I would love nothing more than to get Wendy and Danielle back here because they are good at what they do," Dinsmoore said. "There is no reason those people should have been fired. They did a great job for me."

Clements' mother, Maureen Tyson, suggested that day-to-day management of the cemetery go under the leadership of the county commissioners.

Board member Dorothy Slattery said the removal of any or all board members would have to be done in a special executive meeting that the public would not be able to attend.

Board member Mashak said the issues brought forth at Wednesday's meeting were truthful, and something needs to be done to improve the direction of the cemetery.

"I would like the cemetery up and running without dissension," she said. "If that means coming off the board, I'm willing to do that if everyone else does.

"I need to absorb everything that took place today."

Both Slattery and Maycock do not plan to resign at this time, and say they plan to continue in the jobs they were elected to do.

When asked about the firings of Record and Clements, Maycock said, "It was an executive meeting so I don't know legally what I can and can't say."

Maycock said Dinsmoore's job was never in question, but "I have knowledge and experience that makes all involved uncomfortable."

Slattery said the board is consulting legal counsel before moving forward with decisions concerning the grievances filed by Record and Clements.

"There's two sides to every story," Slattery said. "We'll go forward and deal with it and get things back where they need to be."

The next cemetery board meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Aug. 5.