Paranormal fundraiser at abandoned Viola school canceled

VIOLA - A ghost hunting fundraiser to benefit an abandoned school in the small, unincorporated community of Viola, has been canceled after organizers said the Linn County Department of Planning and Development deemed the building unsuitable for a public event.

Building owner Heidi Liegl and paranormal investigator Sarah Hyatt had planned to provide tours and paranormal investigations inside the 94-year-old building this weekend and again on Oct. 29. Ticket proceeds from the investigation would have gone to fix up the former school, which was built in 1922 and closed in 1998.

Hyatt said Andrew Oien, a building official with the Department of Planning and Development contacted the pair Thursday afternoon.

'He informed us that although it is private property, he has the right to determine if the building is appropriate for our event,” Hyatt said in an email. 'In this case, he's decided that we will not be allowed to hold a public event in the school at this time.”

The Gazette was unable to immediately reach Oien for comment.

Liegl, who purchased the building for $10,000 in 2015, had planned to have all participants of paranormal investigations sign a waiver before entering the former school, which has rotting floors, shattered windows, debris covering many areas of the space and large holes in the roof. She also was going to require participants to be age 18 or older.

Located about 30 minutes northeast of Cedar Rapids and near the small community of Springville, the Viola school building has had various owners since it was closed. Liegl is hoping to develop the building into some type of community center.

'We're devastated by this development, but we're not giving up hope on helping the building,” Hyatt said. 'While Mr. Oien felt that the building should just be demolished, we know how much it means to the community. We're going to continue to find ways to raise money and awareness and bring the school back to its glory.”