Emporia's nuisance code: A bad record for a good law
Antonia Felix
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
AS THE Nov. 15 Gazette editorial “Worth the Effort” observed, the Emporia Neighborhood Rejuvenation Plan is a great idea and should be continued. Who could argue with giving a tax break to those who invest in fixing up their property? But that’s just one common-sense solution to beautifying this city. Another is enforcing the code that was created to prevent homes and yards from disintegrating into the ragged, crumbling eyesores that diminish so many of our neighborhoods, threatening our health and safety and eroding our quality of life.
As a resident of the East side, I’ve become familiar with the odd amalgam of properties found on each block. It is not unusual to see well-cared-for homes sitting next to crumbling houses that should have been bulldozed years ago. Street after street contains homes that have been allowed to deteriorate into shambles. Case in point: the corner of 12th Avenue and Exchange Street.
You know this house, hunched along one of our busiest thoroughfares just three blocks from Emporia State University. Currently the front yard features a full-sized, battered couch next to the usual piles of beer cans and cardboard trash. Those curious visitors who venture off Interstate 35 to follow the signs to the university or our other pride and joy, the William Allen White House, may have a change of heart once they reach the four-way stop in front of this hideous mess and head back to the freeway, fast.
As proud as we are of the William Allen White historical site, we must face the fact that whatever good it does for the reputation of this town is severely hampered by the impression visitors get on their way to it. As a matter of fact, as an oasis of manicured beauty in my neighborhood, it only puts the dilapidated condition of many nearby properties into sharper focus.
But back to that four-way stop. At first glance, the 12th Avenue house breaks almost every code in the book. The city’s nuisance law stipulates the following, all of which is being violated at this address:
- No upholstered furniture in any outside areas, including porches
- No graffiti
- No trash including cans and paper
- No unauthorized trash containers
- No holes in the building’s foundation through which animals can enter
- No chipping, peeling, scaling or missing paint equal to or greater than fifty percent (50 percent) of the attached structure
- No structure in disrepair (!)
- No walls, sidings or exteriors of a quality and appearance not commensurate with the character of the properties in the neighborhood.
Regarding that final item — can we say that the university campus and the W.A. White House are “in the neighborhood”? Of course. My husband and I teach at ESU, and we’ve both felt a sickening mix of anger and humiliation over the trashed-out properties like this one that we drive by every time we give guests a tour of the area.
The house at the four-way stop on 12th Street and Exchange, two blocks from the William Allen White House and three blocks from Emporia State University, violates several city codes.
Walking to campus from our house on Market Street, we can count off multiple violations that have never been addressed in the 15 months we’ve lived here. Two ragged upholstered couches sitting on a porch a block away. The filthy yard on one corner of Mechanic, piled with tires, paint cans, a mattress and other trash, all shoved a hair’s-breath away from the sidewalk. The sagging, vacant, windowless monstrosity on Market with an empty case of beer on the porch and wide-open front door. The all-dirt front yard on Mechanic, upon which sits a home-gym workout machine, crumpled sheet of canvas and stacks of lumber. And across the street, ripped plastic waving in the breeze of an empty window — no glass — and a hole in the foundation big enough for a raccoon the size of a Volkswagen to slip through. These are just a handful of observations in a four-square-block area.
Once upon a time, the government of this city decided that aesthetics meant something and it created a code to ensure that a standard of cleanliness, safety, health and beauty manifests in our neighborhoods. Chapter 17 of the city code prohibits conditions that are a threat to “the aesthetic characteristics of the city,” and the residents of Emporia deserve to see the enforcement of this law.
We should insist that a very good set of nuisance codes does more than take up space on the city’s Web site. If violators get slapped with the maximum penalties, a $500 fine or 30 days in jail, maybe we’ll start to get somewhere. Income from the fines could help pay for the Rejuvenation Plan, property owners would finally take the law seriously and every corner of Emporia would have a chance to shine.
justthinkin (anonymous) says...
I agree. The City worries about it's "Image", but doesn't enforce it's Codes. Gee, I wonder why people think we have a poor "Image" We have the ordinances in place, but we don't seem to care. The town is dirty, but City officials would rather not see it. I was told that it takes a formal complaint be filed. Personnel that enforce these codes won't pursue any property that isn't reported. I've also been told that when complaints are filed, and the process takes the property owner to court, that violations are often dismissed by the prosecutor. She doesn't want to pursue the charges, let alone enforce the ordinance or make the property owner come into compliance.
You pointed out some very good examples - many of which I have personally seen. Another, which goes on for years, is 6th & Union. Why (?) do the owners do nothing to the outside - all Spring & Summer. Then, when the weather gets bad, they just start painting a little bit of the wonderful trim work?
November 21, 2007 at 8:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
If it takes a formal complaint to be filed, then we all need to file one on these eyesores. I finally had to complain about one in my neighborhood recently when a growing pile of junk in the side yard was more than I could stand. All it took was a phone call. In less than an hour, the city person drove by then called me back and said he was issuing a citation. He was doing his job.
Perhaps we need to ask the city commish to investigate the city attorney's rates of property complaint dismissals. And if the property owner doesn't show up in court, issue a bench warrant. Why are we just pussyfooting around all this then mounting a huge image campaign?
Great article, Ms Felix. I certainly agree with you on those eyesores you mentioned. And thank you for publishing the list of violations. We should all lodge complaints with the city for those properties. Only takes a phone call.
November 22, 2007 at 7:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hartford (anonymous) says...
I believe the house on 12th Street and Exchange goes back to recent articles about landlords. I know one of the young men who lives at 12th Street and Exchange. He lives there with several other young men. And I do know for a fact that they rent this house. I wonder why the lanlord has stood by and done nothing? I go by this house everyday as well. At one time they had it cleaned up, but it didn't last long. Last Christmas they had a Christmas tree with beer cans as ornaments. I recall a blow up doll out front with a beer can in one hand and what looked like a cigar in her widely opened mouth! I don't know Emporians, when the boys see an article has been written about "their" house, it could get ugly!
November 22, 2007 at 8:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ksfarmer (anonymous) says...
create-------maybe your phonecall will help remove the junk car sitting at 10th& Commercial. Brown with 4 flat tires back in the lot. I tried back in August, no response. If not, maybe some garland on it for the holidays would look nice.
November 22, 2007 at 8:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MrCmonkeeDo (anonymous) says...
...and we will all live happily ever after; right?
Good grief.
MrC always worries when you peeps start IMAGINING tourists come to Emporia, see an "eye sore," and skedaddle out-o-town.
Oh the poor, poor things--life must be so awful--what with all those nasty ol' trailer houses aPeekin' around the corners ready to pounce on 'em...eYUCK! An' all 'em WAL MART shoppers aCloggin' up their main arteries an' thoroughfares...geeeROSS! Why it jest don' hardly seem fair they should suffer from eye sores too.
Be that as it may, He also worries when you peeps ASSUME that those with messy yards (or whatever) are just lazy, or even bad.
Truth is there could be any number of reasons some folks let their yards go. Death in the family, illness, depression, lack of a way to haul items too big for our trash containers, old age--just to name a few of the most obvious--or even all of the above, could lead to the eye sores so many of you fret about.
MrC just ain't comfortable "maximum fining" those folks and is most certainly NOT in favor of throwing them in jail.
That being said, MrC will admit to feeling more than slightly embarrassed when He travels past THAT house on E. 12th. But those BOYS need SPANKINGS, not jail time.
MrC also recalls that just last year about this time there was a recliner sized chair hoisted dangerously and foolishly in a tired little tree on State Street just south of 12th. The danged thing hung there vulture like over the sidewalk for months before it was finally and mercifully removed. It seemed senseless that it hung so long; did a complaint really need to be filed? Why couldn't law enforcement take it upon themselves to see that it was removed? You know, knock on the door an' say to the occupier of the house, "Hey stupid get that chair out of that tired little tree before it falls on somebody!" Or something really smart like that?
November 23, 2007 at 5:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MrCmonkeeDo (anonymous) says...
Who knows maybe a caring police officer would knock on the door and find that a tired little old lady occupied that house who was just the victim of a cruelly stupid Halloween prank, and though her too busy good-for-nothing son-in-law said he would get that stupid recliner sized chair down he never did because we was depressed and too busy getting drunk to climb a tired little tree. A month went by so she called a well-meaning handyman who promised he'd get right on it, but his hemorrhoids flared up the very next day, or maybe it was on Wednesday, she's not really sure because her memory's not what it used to be, but it got so bad he had to have THAT operation (no..yes, it was definitely Wednesday...she thinks) that makes the hemorrhoids of well meaning handymen go away. Meanwhile a couple more months shot by because there was some kind of complication with the staples, the nature of which she wasn't privy. Now in a perfect world, upon hearing the plight of the tired little old lady the caring police officer might wait till his shift ends and come back with some big strong pals and remove that stupid chair themselves; just because it's the right thing to Do.
Of course we don't live in a perfect world, try as we might, we live in a world where too often law enforcement spray mace into the eyes and punch our 15 year old daughters for being out past curfew, and taser our college students for asking smart-assed questions and shoot our sons for smokin' weed and THEY are quite capable of Doing all of the above to a tired little old lady with a chair in a tree.
Maybe the truth is stranger than fiction.
While MrCmonkeeDo doesn't believe Antonia Felix means any harm, the idea that anyone would high tail out of here because of the impression they get from one or two houses is (pardon MrC) silly. But it is perhaps indicative of the way Antonia processes information.
Flawed logic does not beget logic.
Slapping poor folks with too much junk with $500 fines ain't gonna fix nothing.
Certainly throwing OUR PEEPS in jail for not having "an oasis of manicured beauty" is ill conceived.
But if it makes ya'll feel better MrCmonkeeDo would like to say, on behalf of His trailer trash, WAL MART patronizing brethren, "we are sorry that we don't live up to yer high standards. Seems some of us jest got out of the trailer and into real houses an' jest ain't quite civilized yet. But shucks, most of us aren't bad folks that need to be punished we're jest enjoyin' havin' a yard wheres we can put all our stuff."
See ya...wouldn' wanna be Ya.
November 23, 2007 at 5:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Mr. CMonkeeDo, the Hollywood writer's are on strike; maybe you can go there and be a scab.
November 23, 2007 at 9:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Kansasfarmer: I called down to the city this morning about the junk car on 10th and Commercial, but the lady who takes complaints of that nature won't be in the office until Monday so will call again. I'll keep you posted. I'm not a fiction writer so will keep after this.
November 23, 2007 at 12:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MrCmonkeeDo (anonymous) says...
To create,
Your use of the word "scab" bugs MrC; but he knows you know that.
It is a derogatory word often used to halt discussion and start fights. Let's face it, "scab" is not far removed from "The N Word." Shucks even a FlintHillBilly like MrC knows that. He suspects YOU do too.
That being said, MrC is sure you didn't mean to disparage His good reputation. He knows how frustrating it can all get. Especially when YOU have such thankless duties.
After all, here YOU are trying to turn Emporia into the shining Shangrila that exists in places like Hazelton, Pa and now you gotta deal with abandoned autos and unkempt yards. All that while still trying to be the voice of Emporia on these forums.
Where Do YOU find the time?
For the record MrCmonkeeDo has not, nor would He ever, cross a picket line to "scab" work.
November 24, 2007 at 8:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
momus (anonymous) says...
MrC,
Let’s face it; there are certain corridors that people from outside the community use when entering and exiting Emporia. Those corridors help determine what people think about the community as well as how the community feels about itself. Because around 80% of Emporia's "tourism" is related to the university, a corridor improvement/code enforcement program focusing on the corridors leading to and from ESU is a must.
Of course there will occasionally be extenuating circumstances in some cases of housing that fails to meet code, and that is why there is a complaint process. A police officer isn't going to hall someone off to jail on the basis of one complaint. The property owner has the right to defend their property, submit a plan of action, explain their situation, etc. However, I think you and I both know that the state of some properties along corridors within Emporia cannot be adequately explained by extenuating circumstances; especially the porous state of some of the rental housing that surrounds ESU. We won't be able to solve the problem all at once, and we have to start somewhere (why not the most visible areas first?) And, I agree that we should all hope that property owners (especially those that derive profit from ownership) would take it upon themselves to maintain their properties in such a way that codes are met and exceeded. I think most do. The codes are in place to enforce compliance for those who don't, can't, or won't maintain property, to the detriment of the surrounding properties and the community at large.
November 24, 2007 at 8:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MrCmonkeeDo (anonymous) says...
MrC does not disagree with you momus.
However, like Antonia Felix He too lives on the East side and travels right down 12th everyday (one of the corridors to ESU) usually several times a day. He just doesn't see:
"crumbling houses that should have been bulldozed years ago. Street after street contains homes that have been allowed to deteriorate into shambles."
MrC agrees the house on the corner of 12th Avenue and Exchange Street is embarrassing, to say the least. Sometimes even MrC (who's a live and let live kinda guy) feels like parkin' His truck, marchin' to the door an' draggin' the Rascals out by their collective ears to make 'em clean it up. But He doesn't 'cause they're probably pretty ornery folks and MrCmonkeeDo knows better'n to mess with the ornery. Besides, bad neighbors come and go and we suspect their reign is just about over. But, if someone wants to send an officer to THEIR door to make THEM clean it up, MrC takes NO ISSUE.
But we will ALL rue the day WE start punishing OUR PEEPS for subjective reasons like taste, intelligence or abilities.
It's true that some of the other houses along this corridor are not new and no where near "an oasis of manicured beauty," but they are most likely owned or rented by poor folk. Do WE punish the renter because giant raccoons crawled under the porch or Do we punish the owner; even though any good coon hound could take care of the problem lickety-split?
Obviously not all poor folk are stupid but it's probably safe to assume that most stupid folk are poor. Punishing THEM will not make THEM smarter or richer. It will only make them more surly and poorer.
One man's trash is another man's treasure.
November 25, 2007 at 6:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
I go to the dry cleaners on 12th and sometimes to Dillon's. I always see "crumbling houses that should have been bulldozed years ago. Street after street contains homes that have been allowed to deteriorate into shambles."
Right on, Antonia Felix. Unfortunately, some people are taking your comments way outta context!
November 26, 2007 at 1:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MrCmonkeeDo (anonymous) says...
WE are the "some people" your parents warned YOU about! Ha Ha Ha Haaa!
Good News High Falooters! Those ornery Rascals hauled off THE COUCH! Can WE get a YEE HAW?
Today MrCmonkeeDo decided He was really gonna look, as He drove His usual route down 12th Ave., for "street after street" of "crumbling houses" and whatnot. Just in case He'd gotten so used to the mess that He plain doesn't notice IT anymore...It happens.
What He saw, shook Him to His very core.
Not really, MrC just always wanted to write that. But seriously folks...there's ONE block that has four little homes that could sure use some cheering-up. They are what WE used to call fixer-uppers. One of those "fixer-uppers" is "That House" what's been causin' all 'em eye sores for the Do-Gooders. The other three do not look to be in much better shape, but they don't appear to be dangerous. It looks like they are all occupied, one can only hope and assume the folks that live there don't pay more than $200 a month. But in todays market, who knows? It's none of MrC's beeswax what their rent or mortgage payments are. Just trying to give the reader an idea of the caliber of home we're talking about. They aren't quaint...but with a little paint they could be. MrC is just saying don't be so quick to bulldoze.
Though about a block west of there is a garage--a pretty good sized garage--that sits practically on the sidewalk. It's lookin' pretty sad...could maybe use a good bulldozin'...but it's got good wood on it. Still something should be done and soon.
And that's it!
There used to be more, but a lot of things have changed on this side of town in the last few years. Granted the trees look dead and the grass is brown NOW, but come spring YOU might be amazed how folks have spruced things up over here. And MrC just doesn't believe WE are the folks carryin' on about it.
See we're mostly families an' old folks over here and WE are pretty protective of one another. We've seen lots of changes over the years. We've noticed change takes time; but it's coming and we are helpless to stop it.
Just like a bulldozer. Or rich folks on a power trip. Or even well meaning folks with no sense of propriety.
'Nuff said.
November 26, 2007 at 8:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hogan77 (anonymous) says...
Why is it that MrC talks in third person? Just something I noticed.
I agree that Emporia needs to actually put their beautification program in order, that they should use money more wisely, instead of purchasing ridiculous clocks to place in the middle of a street. When I come to Emporia, which I do about once a year, it truly amazes me at the amount of junk being placed in such odd spots in the town, and yet, when I drive down some of these streets that are in such destruction, I about lose my car in a pothole. Not quite the image I like to keep in mind of my hometown.
Remember townspeople.. I am the one that comes to visit, I am the one that goes back home afterwards and tells MY town how this once beautiful place has turned into nothing more than a dump. But, I can also be just as easily that person that comes back home and says that the town of Emporia has finally put a plan in action, and is looking better than I could ever remember. It is all up to the people in charge which way they wish to go. But you know how it all goes... I tell five people, they tell five people, so on and so on. Your choice.
November 27, 2007 at 5:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MrCmonkeeDo (anonymous) says...
Yeah it's like Amway.
Or a Twilight Zone episode where the townsfolk gather around the elder (this is where hogan77 comes in) and asks if it's safe to venture outside the confines of their city limits.
Hogan77 The Elder says to them, "Yes, it's safe...but don't go to Emporia, it's a dump."
"Now go forth and tell all your friends."
(cue creepy scary Twilight Zoney music.)
November 27, 2007 at 6:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Mr. C writes in 3rd person because it's traditional for fiction.
November 27, 2007 at 7:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
LOL LOL LOL
November 27, 2007 at 8:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hogan77 (anonymous) says...
Ks- You are too funny at times!
I am suspecting MrC does like to annoy people. BTW, I am far from the elder, and I work close enough around teens that my words would make them think twice about attending the university. Not a threat, I am just saying. If it isn't enough for the kids, it is enough for the parents.
I like to see what my once lovely town is doing, if there are improvements going on which I can bring back and share with my own townspeople here. They are more apt to improve the community I live in now, especially when I give them examples and show photos of the nice things that were done. If I come back and say, Nope, it is only getting worse over there, they are not only going to ease on improvements in our own community, but they are less likely to go over and visit Emporia, hence less revenue for your community. Just think.. I have done really good so far, it has been a year since I have visited (it is getting close to that time though). The last time I came back, I just boasted about how beautiful downtown has gotten, about how my favorite pizza place is still there, and still making THE best pizza ever (Pyramid Pizza), and that I was impressed by the expansion of schools and homes. I did say a few negatives, saying that Peter Pan Park was still in dire need of a clean up, but that Jones Park was still quite lovely, and that I was disappointed in the "upper" east side (12th Ave., over by the old east Dillons), saying that it just seemed quite dirty. At this point last year, I was ready to pack up my things, and bring a handful of loyal followers with me. However, given all that I have been reading, my mind has changed quite a bit. Only time will tell if I REALLY wish to move back or not. Guess it depends on if Emporia politicians can straighten their acts up or not.
Those politicians need to realize that sometimes, good old word of mouth can still be the most effective method of news. I am sure that I am not the ONLY one that does things like this either. Just think of families coming to visit during the holidays, or prospective students for ESU, or just the casual traveler, stopping through for gas or a bite to eat...
November 27, 2007 at 8:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MrCmonkeeDo (anonymous) says...
(cue creepy scary Twilight Zoney music.)
November 28, 2007 at 12:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
siamesefred (anonymous) says...
I actually enjoy how MrC writes. He always makes me chuckle, even if I don't always agree with him.
And the third person doesn't bother me. Personally, it takes more work to write in MrC's style than my first-person "spill it" style.
November 28, 2007 at 6:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Gilbert_Craig (anonymous) says...
I personally like Papa John's best. JMO.
November 28, 2007 at 7:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Gilbert_Craig (anonymous) says...
I really like what Wheat State Pizza has done with its new location in the old Godfathers building. It really looks great in there and the buffet is top-notch with their specialty pizzas on it. It's not the same old cheap one or two topping ones that the other buffets seem to have been reduced to. Great job Wheat State on improving the Emporia downtown!
November 28, 2007 at 7:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hogan77 (anonymous) says...
I haven't been to Wheat State yet, guess I will have to stop in there next time I am in, and try them out. Thanks for the tip!
November 28, 2007 at 11:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ksgirl (anonymous) says...
I have been to the house on the corner of 12th and Exchange many times and I was shocked when I found out that someone had written an article about the house in the paper. Once I read the article and took time to reflect it I felt the need to write a response. In my personal opinion I felt the article was a form of public humiliation. If someone wrote an article about my home and published that it was a “hideous mess” and that it “breaks almost every code in the book” I would be embarrassed. Not only that but you went on to say that they were “trashed out properties” and that they cause you a “mix of anger and humiliation.” Do you think that maybe you provoked the same response of the people whose homes you pointed your finger at? If I were so concerned for for my health and safety I would not write an article that would embarrass someone intsead I’d do something about it. Have you ever thought about organizing a community clean up day or writing a letter to the people who live in the homes you are concerned about. You could even knock on their doors and offer to help clean up the place because maybe they cannot do it on their own due circumstances beyond their control. If I were going to write an article to the paper I would just write a reminder of what the codes are and I would talk to the city about enforcing these codes. I think it’s a bit of an exgaration to say the when people see home’s that need a little more TLC that they are going to “head back to the freeway, fast.” People of that nature would have to be shallow because I think there are better things to be concerned about then a less then perfect home and yard.
November 30, 2007 at 3:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Ksgirl--If I were going to write an article to the paper I would just write a reminder of what the codes are and I would talk to the city about enforcing these codes.--
I believe that is exactly what the writer of this article did. In fact, the article itself serves as talking to the city since they should be reading the paper to begin with.
The owner of that property does not live there, ksgirl. The owner of that property makes money on that property and does not seem to use one penny to repair or improve it in any way. It's been that way for years.
One day, when you own real property, you will understand how it feels when neighboring properties that are in great disrepair are contributing to devaluing your own property. That's a real problem with which I am quite familiar because two houses in my neighborhood have brought the valuation of my house down. The appraiser said so.
In the past, I have tried to help these people with the loan of tools and even actual help. In one case I gave them two gallons of paint left over from my house painting project since their house was the same color as mine. They could have painted their porch with it. They left the two gallons of paint on the porch all winter long and it turned to cottage cheese. The tools weren't returned in a timely fashion. One was never returned -- a good circular saw. They said they can't find it and never once offered to replace it. How much good will do you think I have left?
I'm not well off, but I save my pennies because I have to hire work done a little at a time. Others can do that too.
December 1, 2007 at 10:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ksgirl (anonymous) says...
I think that it's funny that you assume I don't own property or should I say "real property." I am not saying that people should not keep their places looking nice because I know that certain things have bugged me. For instance when you spend a good portion of your day mowing and the house next to you continues to grow over with weeds it's kind of frustrating. However, I'm the type of person that knocks on the door and ask if their mower is broke. I guess you could say I am direct like that and where I have had positive experience by doing such things you have had a negative experience. Some people no matter what you do are not going to give a hoot but they still don't deserve public humiliation. I'd rather have someone talk to me or write to me in private so that if I am humiliated at least it's in the privacy of my crumbling house that should have been bulldozed years ago.
December 1, 2007 at 12:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MrCmonkeeDo (anonymous) says...
ksgirl,
You make some valid points; however, "create" is right. In the real world, trashed-out properties Do bring down the valuation of their neighbor's properties. In fact, "that house" is a perfect example of what can happen when even one of us doesn't keep a clean yard. Do you see how close to out-of-hand THIS has become?
Honestly, if your peeps were publicly humiliated THEY asked for it (indeed, they demanded it) with their choice of trash placement. There are always a bunch of big strong lookin' young men hangin' about "that house." Please Do Not suggest any inability on their part, 'cause that point is blunt.
That being said your statements are otherwise quite valid. Emporia used to have public clean-up days. MrC doesn't recall when the last one was, but obviously it is time for another. It's an outstanding way to interact with one's neighbors in community spirit and sorely needed.
December 1, 2007 at 1:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
I agree, Mr. C, we do need to return to the public cleanup days. And I do wish they would go back to opening the dump on the weekends.
December 2, 2007 at 10:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ksgirl (anonymous) says...
I wasn't suggesting any inability on their part but there may be inabilities on other people whose property doesn't look so great. Anyway from what I have heard those guys won't be living there much longer anyway. The landlords gave them thirty days to get out.
December 3, 2007 at 1:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
I wonder what spurred the landlords of that now infamous house to give those tenants the boot?
December 3, 2007 at 11:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ksgirl (anonymous) says...
Maybe it was the article, who knows! You know that place wouldn't look half bad with a little siding or a new paint job! Whatever the case hopefully they fix it up before they rent it back out.
December 3, 2007 at 12:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
I definitely agree with you that they should fix it up before renting it out. I'm guessing that many of us will be keeping an eye on that place.
December 3, 2007 at 2:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )