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ch horder houseCITRUS HEIGHTS-

Residents who live along Spicer Drive were out taking pictures of work crews clearing the brush and trees from a blighted house that’s plagued them for years.

City crews were enforcing an abatement order to clear out a house that was home to dozens of cats and a woman who hoarded items as well.

Neighbors say the woman they identified as Nancy Logsden refused counseling and help from them and the city to clean her two story home that reeked of cat feces and urine.  The house is not only filled with old furniture and other items, it is structurally unsound after a leaky roof was left without repairs.  It was also declared an environmental hazard and will be demolished by the city.

Workers wore masks as they cut away brush that screened the entire house from the street. More trash and worn furniture was uncovered in the front and side of the house.

“The smell and the stench have been unbearable,” neighbor Marcelle Flowers said. She organized a petition with dozens of her neighbors to have the city intercede.

Neighbors say taking away someone’s home was the last resort.

“Everybody’s tried to get her help, offered to help her and she just won’t accept the help.  It’s sad,” neighbor Steve Spellman said.

Code enforcement declared the house unlivable years ago, but that didn’t stop Logsden from continuing to harbor cats and collecting property even after the water and electricity was turned off.

The abatement process took a year and a half before the city and the courts were able to condemn the house.  Neighbors say it was a hard-won victory after nearly two decades of putting up with the eyesore and the smell. Demolition crews are scheduled to tear the house down next Monday.