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Living next door to a burned-out “eyesore” |
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Friday, July 10 2009 |
For nearly a year-and-a-half, Rebecca and Less Simmers’ son has been living next to a pile of rubble that was once a home in Larwill.
By CHRIS MEYERS
Staff Writer
For nearly a year-and-a-half, Rebecca and Less Simmers’ son has been living next to a pile of rubble that was once a home in Larwill.
Located on Center Street, Larwill’s main thoroughfare, the site is visible not only to their son, but any resident across the street and passersby.
“It’s really an eyesore to the town,” said Rick Hobbs, president of the Larwill Town Council.
The town has sent at least two letters to the property owner about the site, and although the site does get cleaned occasionally, it’s not nearly to the town’s liking.
“They’ll do just a little bit and they’ll quit,” Les Simmers said of the cleanup he and his wife have witnessed while they visit their son, and from accounts they’ve heard from other nearby residents.
Les and Rebecca Simmers live in Columbia City, but frequently visit their son and talk with other residents they know about the situation.
Hobbs said the main focus of the letters has been to emphasize the need for the orange snow fence around the site to be properly in place to deter people from getting into the rubble left in the foundation.
A car is also still parked in the burned garage.
“We all knew this was coming the day after the fire,” Hobbs said of the lack of cleanup.
Aside from the visual aspect of the site, the council and residents are concerned about possible health issues from rodents and other animals using the site for a home.
“He’s had rats and rodents,” Rebecca Simmers said of her son and another nearby resident.
Craig Wagner of the Whitley County Building Department said today that after six months of not being cleaned, a citation can be written to the property owner under the town’s unsafe building ordinance, which then starts the legal process to get the property cleaned.
Another option the council is considering is paying for the cleanup of the site and placing a lien on the property as a way to ensure repayment for the services.
E-mail staff writer Chris Meyers at
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, July 14 2009 )
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