Problem Neighbours Gone

The house to the south of us is empty again. This is where the police incident occurred over the winter. Our house sitter was surprised by RCMP squad cars in our driveway and armed police running around in our yard, taking our lawn furniture over to the side fence where they pointed guns at the neighbors house and yelled for him to come out with his hands up. The house sitter went out to see what was up and was told to go back into the house and to stay away from the windows.

The excitement was soon over and we heard not long ago that the renter had been standing in front of his house pointing a gun at passing traffic. We had never met or spoken to this guy or anyone else who lived in the house with him. We really cannot see into their yard as there is a high hedge, our workshop and a six foot fence separating us. This was the house that our friends Dave and Doris lived in for many years after we moved here. They were the best neighbours we could ask for, almost like family.

Dave and Doris moved out several years ago when a condo developer knocked on their door and offered them an obscene amount of money for their house and huge lot. It was too much to even consider turning down, so they moved. These developers still own the house but the bottom has dropped out of the condo market here so they are just holding the property until better financial times. There have been several renters, none of whom we liked or even associated with. First there was the couple with two kids and two very expensive vehicles. The one time we did talk to him he said he worked in the Alberta oil fields but in the two years they were there, he never left town and seldom left the property. We suspected drugs. Another time there were two women, one of whom had a young son. One worked in a local bar and at least one was a hooker. There were comings and goings all night. Another pair of women who did not appear to have regular jobs had two pit bulls that ran free around the place and which on many occasions found their way into our yard. After many polite phone calls asking them to come and get their pit bulls off our lawn, I finally had enough. In an uncharacteristic move, I pounded on their door and told them their *^&$% dogs were in our yard again and to get them out and keep them out or I would get rid of them. That did the trick as we were not bothered by the dogs again. They moved out soon after, probably because of the cranky old neighbours.

A couple of days ago there was a lot of noise from next door. We peeked through the hedge and saw a huge dumpster being taken away and another being placed. There were workers around the house so we went over to talk to them.

It turns out that the renters had not been paying their bills or rent and were evicted. The police were required to help in the eviction because of their history with firearms and, it turned out, their known status as local drug dealers.

The workers were stripping out the house. Everything was going into three huge dumpsters, old furniture, carpets, appliances, everything. The upstairs and (ground level) downstairs are going to be separated and the house will become a rental duplex.

They said the place was full of garbage, rats and used needles, a real disaster. They say they are the new property managers and there will be better quality renters from now on. We shall see.