Published: July 24, 2008 11:17 am      

Whelan Lane home in Jeffersonville, damaged in fire, to be removed

A Whelan Lane home damaged by fire in January will be torn down by the city of Jeffersonville.

The city’s Board of Public Works and Safety voted to have the house torn down during its meeting Wednesday morning. The cost of the demolition will be paid for by the city and a lien will be placed on the property in order to collect the amount, said Russ Segraves, Jeffersonville’s building commissioner.

Many may remember the house fire by one of its survivors: a 3-year-old dachshund named Lady, who escaped the burning building with minor injuries and was later found to be pregnant with puppies.

Segraves said the owner of the home was sent a certified letter — which was signed for — informing him that the structure was unsafe and needed to be torn down. He was given a chance to appeal, but did not show up, so the city will do the demolition itself, he said. No timetable has been set.



In other business

• The board agreed to put a 6-foot fence around a cul-de-sac on Blue Teal Lane. The fence is being erected because children in the area are walking and taking mopeds through the cul-de-sac and onto nearby private property, said Barbara Wilson, a board member and city councilwoman.

Planning Director Jim Urban noted that many of the kids that are cutting through are on their way to Jeffersonville High School. The cut-through is being used in part because there are no sidewalks on Allison Lane, he said.