Cluttered yard to be cleaned up

Denise Cardinal

Thursday, Feb. 12, 1998 | 10:22 a.m.

Refrigerators, truck toppers, tarps and assorted metal contraptions clutter practically every square inch of the yard at 705 Osprey Circle and even spill onto the driveway.

"The people who live right next to it were looking at moving because of all the stuff," said Norman Grover, a retired resident of 700 Osprey Circle. Grover has lived in the neighborhood since it was built in the mid-1950s. "But the problem was if they tried to sell it, their house would be worth less."

But soon, possibly within the next few days, all the rubble will be gone and the neighbors can lay their eyes on the yard at 705 Osprey Circle for the first time in months.

The lot started becoming an eyesore back in 1996, according to Orlando Sanchez, manager of the neighborhood response division of the city of Las Vegas' neighborhood services department.

"We'd talk to the owners, and they'd clean it up," Sanchez said, "Then two weeks later it'd be back to its old state."

About six months ago, the cycle stopped, and the owner didn't even attempt to clean anything up. That's when the department started issuing citations on the property.

But it didn't matter -- the owner had skipped mortgage payments, causing foreclosure on the property.

Veterans Affairs was the guarantor on the loan, so the property was transferred into the VA's possession earlier this week. Gordon Carey, manager of the VA's reacquired properties division in Las Vegas, said on Wednesday that the property will be cleaned up in a matter of days.

"We needed to get three bids from contractors with VA credentials," Carey said. "We've done that, we'll award it and we'll start cleaning this up right away."

The news couldn't come any sooner for the neighbors, especially Grover.

"Thank God the problem is being rectified," he said.