Johnson County may not call ghostbusters

Johnson County may not call ghostbusters
By Gregg Hennigan

The Gazette
gregg.hennigan@gazettecommunications.com

IOWA CITY — It appears public opinion, not ghosts, may scare away the Johnson County Board of Supervisors from allowing a paranormal investigation at the county Poor Farm and Asylum.

"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," Supervisors Chairman Rod Sullivan said today.

The supervisors will "very briefly" discuss the proposal at an informal meeting April 9, he said.

Members of the Caroll Area Paranormal Team want to inspect the site — west of Iowa City on Melrose Avenue — for ghosts using thermal imaging cameras, voice recording systems and other equipment.

Last week, Brandon Cochran of the Johnson County Historical Society brought that request to the supervisors, who gave him the go-ahead to gather more information in anticipation of a formal vote that may not happen now.

"Since that point, and since it's gotten some publicity and stuff, we've heard a lot of negative comments," Sullivan said.

Also today, the supervisors received an e-mail from the Chatham Oaks board of directors objecting to the ghost hunt. Chatham Oaks, which is adjacent to the Poor Farm, is a residential care facility for about 80 people with chronic mental illness.

"We were concerned about any negative stigma that it could bring to individuals with mental illness," Executive Director Vivian Davis said.

Cochran, museum operations assistant at the Johnson County Historical Society, which manages the Poor Farm, said there have never been any reports of paranormal activity at the site, which dates to the 1850s.

"We were approached, we didn't see it as a harmful request, we passed it on," he said.