Pubdate: Thu, 16 Mar 2006
Source: Longview News-Journal (TX)
Copyright: 2006sCox Interactive Media
Contact:  http://www.news-journal.com/index.html
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1048
Author: Barbara Ramirez

RESIDENTS CHEER AS FORMER SITE OF METH LAB DESTROYED

'It Feels So Good To Finally See This House Be Torn Down'

A track hoe smashed through the roof Tuesday of a house  on Bazzell 
Drive. Windows crashed, wooden material  crumbled - and neighbors cheered.

"Tear it down! Tear it down!" Katie Ballard screamed,  leading a 
crowd of onlookers to do the same.

As each side of the house folded, a burden was lifted.

"It feels so good to finally see this house be torn  down," Ballard 
said, her face beaming.

About four months ago, the house in the 1000 block of  Bazzell Drive 
in West Longview brought shame to the  community, neighbors said.

On Nov. 10, things changed.

Inside the house, fire officials found what one  investigator called 
the area's "biggest meth lab in  recent history."

Ballard said people in the community were enraged when  they learned 
that chemicals used to make  methamphetamine were inches away from 
catching fire and  possibly exploding, putting many residents in danger.

"I was out here that day, madder than a hornet,"  Ballard said.

Ballard, manager of Prestige Builders, lives in the  neighborhood 
where fire officials discovered the meth  lab.

Instead of letting her anger get the best of her,  Ballard said she 
decided to do her part to re-establish  the community.

The day after the fire, Ballard approached her boss,  Lorrie Pitre, 
and proposed that the company look into  buying the property.

Tuesday, Ballard stood in front of the house and  clapped because her 
goal had been accomplished.

The home was about to be foreclosed because of back  taxes, and 
Ballard said Prestige Builders was able to  buy the property. The 
company plans to build a home to  sell to another family.

The new home will be a 1,600-square-foot, ranch-style  home that will 
be "suited for the community," Ballard  said.

Patricia Hampton, a resident of the community who is  the guardian of 
two grandchildren, said she was pleased  to see the house gone.

"I think this is so fantastic," Hampton said. "Now the  kids can play outside."

Mayor Jay Dean said Tuesday that he is proud that  people in Longview 
work together for the betterment of  the city and community.

"I think this project speaks well for the people of  Prestige 
Builders," the mayor said. "The fact that we  have people like that 
in the community that will help  us get rid of things like meth labs 
in our community  and help our redevelopment is wonderful."

"It was labor of love," Ballard said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman