As the vacant house at 1454 Angus Street in Regina came slowly crashing down, neighbours were literally cheering.
The house has been a thorn in the side of people trying to clean up the neighbourhood – a haven for prostitutes, drug dealers and other mischief makers.
“(There was) a lot of needle use within this house or on the property,” said Shawna Oochoo of the White Pony Lodge Community Patrol.
“There’s a lot of needles that were left behind; a lot of debris that was left behind.”
Russ Mitchell lives right next door. From his balcony, he has seen a lot of troublemakers coming and going. But the view he sees now is much more to his liking.
“There’s been people hanging out there and causing a ruckus sometimes, and I’m just worried about fires. Somebody started another fire,” Mitchell said.
But not everyone is cheering.
The demolition is being carried out not by the owners, but by city hall. In fact, the man who holds the title to the property wasn't even told the demolition was going to be happening. He found out when CTV News told him.
“I had a couple of options that maybe we could have done but, nope, no options,” said Barrie Probe of St. Joe’s Holdings.
Officials at Regina City Hall repeatedly refused to comment on the taxpayer-funded demolition. But on Angus Street this week, it was difficult to find any taxpayers who have a problem with it.
