'It’s just really unsafe': vacant building a safety concern in LaSalle
An abandoned building in LaSalle is more than just an eye sore for one neighbour.
Doug Drouillard claims kids are entering the building that’s been vacant for years and he’s concerned about their safety.
“I’ve called a few times because there’s been kids that climb over the back and into the building and hang out for the day and it’s just really unsafe for them to be in there,” says Drouillard.
Drouillard lives on Vermont Street and says kids have been hanging around the boarded up property on Front Road - some even climbing to unsafe heights to get inside the building.
“When you walk around the outside, yeah sure, they’re all boarded up. The windows are boarded up, but it’s through the roof that they’re gaining access.”
According to Drouillard, it’s even attracting stray animals.
“You could probably count 15 cats going in and out of there in a day.”
Mayor Marc Bondy says complaints about the vacant building started about two years ago.
“Now animals? Sure could they climb up and a muskrat or raccoon sure, but quite frankly they could get into your house. So animals are not a concern,” says Bondy.
The issue has dragged on into a legal stand-off.
CTV looked up the property owner through the town’s assessment roll book, but did get a response to the matter from the person who answered the phone at the number registered on file.
“We did some investigation and found out there’s not much we can do,” says Bondy.
LaSalle administration had previously spoken to the property owner a number of years ago and as a result, measures to prevent access were shored up.
Bondy most recently spoke to fire officials on Sunday, who observed the property and stated there have been no visible signs of entry since the padlocks were installed.
“We’d like to have the building down and a new building put up,” he says. “We’d like a lot of things in the town but we can’t force anyone to take a building down.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.