Posted on 06/21/2002 9:05:36 PM PDT by chance33_98
One Man's Trash Is Another Lubbock Man's Treasure
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Lubbock code enforcers are putting on the pressure to one man who has used junk to landscape his yard. The city says it is an unusual case because 90% of the time, cases like this are vacant unoccupied structure.
62-year-old Carl Bagwell lives and owns the home. The city has handed Bagwell several violations, but the problem is, he has not paid them. On top of that, neighbors say his junk has become piles of junk over the last few years and they are fed up with it.
Tech Terrace is one neighborhood in Lubbock that is known for its quaint homes and well-kept yards. But in the middle of it all, there is one home which is decorated literally with piles of junk and has been for years. "Oh, I walk up and down a few of the alleys. Neighbors throw away all kinds of junk and I pick it up," says Bagwell.
"I guess you can call him a collector," says his next door Sara Muzquiz. NewsChannel 11 asked Bagwell why he collects so much junk, "Because it is free," he says. To Carl Bagwell, free is affordable. His neighbors, however, think his free treasures are a nuisance. "It looks a little trashy," says one neighbor. "I hate it," says Penny Seaver.
Do not think this has gone unnoticed by the city either. Inspectors have taken 10 years worth of nuisance complaints from neighbors about Bagwell's junk collection. "It's escalated over the years. I think it began as just some material or debris that have been stored in the yard," says Business and Neighborhood Manager Rob Alllison.
Now, Allison says this situation has gotten out of hand. He says the home Bagwell lives in does not have any running water or sewer lines, and poses as a health and safety issue. The city has tried numerous times to find volunteers who will help Bagwell clean up the mess, but they keep getting the same answer, "They don't' know what I want to throw away and keep, so I'm the only one that can do that," says Bagwell.
Aside from his stubbornness and bad habit, Bagwell is actually a good neighbor. A couple of neighbors say they wave and say hello every time he walks by. "We had a moving trailer in the front yard when my old roommate was moving out. She had put it on a stump and we needed to get it off. We thought maybe he could produce a jack, which he did successfully out of his house. It was funny because we were teasing about what he might not have in there," says Muzquiz.
Regardless, neighbors would like the city to do what they can to force Bagwell to clean up his yard. Which is exactly what the city is doing everything they can legally. "This is a situation where it is an owner occupied structure there are no liens and he is the sole person we are dealing with," Allison says.
Bagwell told us he wants to comply with the city codes, the only problem is, he does not agree with the time span they gave him to clean this up. The city gave him a one month deadline, but Bagwell feels five months would have been more adequate. His deadline was June 20th. But the city is willing to work with him so they are giving him until Monday to clean up yard. The city says if he has not done that, then the city will enforce clean-up with their own employees.
The city says this situation has happened before. Nine years ago they were forced to clean up a woman's home that neighbors had been complaining about.
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Ok, where do I send the 386, ST506 + BocaBoard SVGA ?
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