City of Edmonton set to acquire 'daily reminder' of 2010 Lago Lindo tragedy
Residents who have lived in the north Edmonton neighbourhood of Lago Lindo for 11 years would likely remember June 20 of 2010 well.
It was on that day that a house explosion rocked the community. The blast was so powerful that it shook items off store shelves blocks away from its epicentre.
In the aftermath, four bodies were recovered from the rubble created by the explosion, two houses were leveled and $3.5 million in damages were caused to 40 others.
An investigation revealed 47-year-old Cathie Heard was already dead before the explosion, a victim of strangulation at the hands of her common-law husband Dwayne Poirier.
Police determined Poirier caused the house to explode when he tampered with the home's natural gas line.
Next-door neighbours Craig Huber and Brad Winter were also killed in the blast, along with Poirier.
Now, 11 years later, the land where that exploded house once sat serves as a difficult reminder of that Sunday, for neighbours who remember.
“We have to look at this property every year, every day, and we’re tired of it.”
That's the sentiment next-door neighbour Bernie Meunier expressed to CTV News Edmonton when asked about the land.
Meunier says his wife was home that June day in 2010, but managed to escape unharmed.
"My wife was in the house," he said, "and she got out, barely, and it’s awful for her. We’re fed up with this."
'THE CITY SHOULD COME IN AND DO SOMETHING'
The lot remains vacant, but for an overgrowth of weeds and a notice from the city that's addressed to the property's deceased owners, instructing them to clean those weeds up.
Edmonton city councillor Jon Dziadyk posted a video to social media last week to protest the state of the property, and the city's response to it.
"The city should come in and do something," Dziadyk said in the video. "Since being on council, I've tried to get the city to acquire this property, which as you can tell, it's not being maintained well."
"This is a daily reminder for those that live around here," he added.
CTV News Edmonton captured an interaction between Dziadyk and a man who identified himself as Brad Winter's father, near the vacant lot.
"You’ve been elected for four years," the man shouted at Dziadyk. "The last three years, you’ve known about the situation and you’ve done nothing.”
But now it seems something is being done.
According to internal city emails sent to Dziadyk and shared with CTV News Edmonton, the city will soon become the interim owner of the land in the area of 180A Avenue and 91A Street through the “tax forfeiture process."
Once that happens, according to one of the emails, the city will put the parcel of land up for sale.
Perhaps some good news for Meunier.
“I want this cleaned up so we can look after our house and move on," he said. "This is a reminder every day and I am tired of it.”
In a written response, a City of Edmonton spokesperson confirmed the tax forfeiture to CTV News Edmonton.
"This is not full ownership but is a form of interim ownership allowable under the (Municipal Government Act)," the statement read in part. "The documentation is in the process of being sent to land titles."
The city spokesperson was unable to give any timelines for the tax forfeiture process.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Dan Grummett
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.