Fate of artifacts to be determined
By Bob Niedbala, Staff writer
niedbala@observer-reporter.com
WAYNESBURG – A hearing has been scheduled by the Greene County Court to determine the disposition of historical artifacts included in the collection of a museum formerly operated by Monon Center Inc.
The hearing, scheduled by Judge William Nalitz for 1:30 p.m. May 14, was requested in a motion filed Monday by the state attorney general’s office.
The attorney general’s office, which claims the nonprofit corporation is defunct, is seeking another organization to accept the artifacts and carry on the Monon Center’s mission, according to the motion.
The historic Monon Center building in Greensboro, which had housed the museum, was taken by eminent domain last year by Greensboro Borough.
Museum artifacts owned by the center were at the time being catalogued by the attorney general’s office, which had become involved in the matter when the corporation attempted to sell the artifacts at auction last July.
Members of the Nathanael Greene Historical Foundation had opposed the sale and contacted the attorney general questioning whether the center had followed the law in attempting to dispose of the artifacts.
The attorney general’s office filed a motion to halt the sale, a motion subsequently granted by the court.
The attorney general’s office maintains that laws governing nonprofits prohibit property given to the center for charitable purposes from being “diverted from the object to which it was donated” without an order from the court.
Some of the artifacts may have been donated to the center with restrictions prohibiting them from being sold, the office explained.
The attorney general’s office said it would review the center’s records regarding the donations and present its findings to the court. The office is currently wrapping up its review, Nils Frederiksen, attorney general spokesman, said Monday.
The office believes items donated to the museum were donated for the purpose of documenting the area’s history and were not given to be sold to create a scholarship program as was proposed by the Monon Center, he said.
Frederiksen said the entity that accepts the artifacts will have to be a local charitable organization that can fulfill the mission of the center of highlighting the community’s history.
Mary Shine, president of Greensboro Borough council said it is possible the Nathanael Greene Historical Foundation or the borough might consider accepting the artifacts. “We would just like to see them stay in Greensboro,” she said.
Copyright Observer Publishing Co.
