http://ca.news.yahoo.com/house-newfo...145808880.html


Yeah, coz there's not a snow removal contractor with a backhoe anywhere to be found. Git. If you can afford to be away the entire winter, you don't need tax bucks paying for your snow removal. Declare an emergency .... FFS, why not just call 911 for pizza delivery.

 

That pretty much sums it up. People just don't take accountability for their choices and expect Gov't bailouts for dang near everything. Jed Clampett would have summed it up like this: That's a plumb sorry excuse..."

 

That sounds like some of the welfare recipents here in the states.

 

 

I will refrain from getting political so I don't get thrown off this site. So I must say "no comment".

 

x1000

 

like my father once told me its a mind set. he is a platinum member of delta sky miles and has been to every country multiple times. only in this country do people have a mind set of someone owes them something. well here and Europe but that's a whole nothing can of beans. Im young and it blows my mind how stupid people are and ignorant the masses have become.
off my soap box sorry

 

Weird thing is, in the picture, the house looks completely accessible with just a little shovel work.




I guess if I were them, I'd get some neighbors or a crew, dig a tunnel straight through to the best door, and line the tunnel with some 2x4s and sheathing to keep it from collapsing, and then just keep the end of the tunnel clear.

Imagine how much easier my life would have been this past winter if I'd had the gummint to shovel all that snow I had to clear...

- Eric

 

work that isn't allowed. it is now a banned word along with any actions that may be associated with it

 

From the look of the picture, it looks like snow plows and diggers have already been through. Why didn't she just flag one down, slip them a $50 (or a $100) and ask them to dig up to her front door?

 

Something is wrong here....!

You build/buy a house in NW Newfoundland, leave it alone for the winter....and expect that it isn't ever going to snow??? WTH is wrong with those people???

Don't you build/prepare a house for things like that, and make it strong enough to withstand what is normal weather in that area???

Don't worry.......it will MELT! Sometime.....!

 

Here in Lansing, we have special gov't crews to help with the snow moving.

Every time I clear the driveway, they come by with a plow, evidently tasked with knocking down as many mailboxes as possible, and they are kind enough to also fill in the driveway with the heaviest and most brutal slush available. No extra charge for this service either. Just regular taxes.

 

Actually from the picture it looks like there is a road in front of the house running along the power lines. maybe the gov plowed and blew the snow on the house.

 

Here in the Frozen North, in addition to the plows, most towns have articulated machines with 4 or 5 foot tall snowblowers that blast through the sidewalks after a storm.
Ours is always nice enough to direct the stream away from our driveway when he passes.
The night after a storm, crews come out with loaders and dump trucks and get the snow off of the sides of the streets up to the curbs.

Unless you want to pay a guy with a plow, though, clearing the snow away from your house is up to you.

- Eric

 

Because gov't workers (municipal or provincial) aren't allowed to accept $$ to do that, nor are they allowed onto private property without the knowledge/consent of their department.

From the looks of the picture, the plows didn't send any snow onto the house or in front of it - that's just a natural drift.

There's another issue at hand here which is insurance. Up here Insurance companies require the property to be checked inside for any evidence of frozen pipes every 3 days. That house doesn't look like it's been lived in for...months. If they'd had someone contracted to remove snow after each snowfall, I seriously doubt this would be an issue. Absentee homeowners expecting something for nothing = Why should this be the Gov't's problem now?

 

i dont know what the deal is in Canada but first, just because they were away for most of the winter doesnt mean they are with unlimited finances and second the govt is who we pay our taxes to so if we need legit help why not ask them, maybe no one locally could help. not like they are asking for a sustained handout from the govt like many that just want to be taken care for life

 

There is no way that there would be nobody local who could help them up there. Once you get this far north, everybody and his mother has a loader, a plow truck, or a Bobcat.
Getting someone to help for FREE, though, might not be so easy.

The thought crosses my mind that these people may not have ingratiated themselves with their neighbors.

- Eric

 

Maybe not, neither of us knows their financial status for sure, but generally anyone who has the finances to live at 2 different properties should have means to look after both IMO. And if they can't? They might consider renting it out to cover the costs and ensure the property is maintained. Up here that's a reasonable approach.

Paying taxes to the Gov't has nothing to do with removal of snow on private property; it's the home-owner's responsibility. In many municipalities if you don't do that, the city will give notice to get it done; and if it isn't they will come do it and send the home-owner the bill for the service. (and if the HO refuses to pay it gets added to the property taxes the following year - just like motor vehicle fines that don't get paid at DMV registration time) What you're suggesting would inevitably lead to a everyone saying the gov't is responsible for snow removal on their property, which in turn would lead to even higher taxation to cover a cost that shouldn't have been incurred in the first place. That's not going to happen, and this would be a bad precedent.

What ever happened to the concept of home owners being responsible for their own property and maintenance?

 

About an hours worth of work with a $375.00 walk behind snow thrower

 

thats not what im suggesting...the god damn house is covered in snow for whatever reason to me, these people seem to need help

 

What they need is a windbreak of arbor vitae trees and a roof with a decent pitch.
A near-flat roof like that is stupid in a snowy area, as it is liable to collapse under a good snow load.
A tight line of evergreen trees on the side of the prevailing winds would have essentially eliminated snow drifts against the house, as well as protected it from wind chilling.

There's no way the same thing or something similar hasn't happened to that house before.

- Eric

 

This is what happens when you build a house on a big rock in the middle of the ocean LOL, Leave it abandoned..... come to Ontario for work. That's most of the Newfoundlanders lifestyle. Don't leave home without your house LOL.!!!

 

What they need is the spring thaw - so much for global warming, eh.

 

Lol... global warming and good thaw will give them a nice indoor pool.

 

its actually climate change, global warming is used wrongly by lots of folks, the entire planet is not warming only the coldest parts are ,for now

 

So they say.

 

Shiver me timber that's the coldest part on my planet . No climate change their that's called wife neglect here in Ontario

 

Choose your words wisely..........don't think the guy was looking for hand outs...just a little help!!! Being a NEWFOUNDLANDER in Alberta....most people I know from there would give a stranger the shirt of their back to help a person out....me being one of them!!!!!

 

Yes sir... I'm a newf as well not knocking the deal at all, its just the way it is their, It looks like they are out in the bays so not many around to help. My shirt is off to many myself buddy.

 

lol .....Its just strange that no one in this little community would help......this would not happen in my neck of the woods!!

 

My post was awesome but then I read it back and deleted most of it. This is the only part left.
"looks like a shovel and a little determination could fix the problem"

 

Well, as I said, my guess is that at some point in the past they really PO'd their neighbors, and this is the result.

- Eric

 

Geez...
Minor annoyance, easy solution...

Go outside.
Fill bucket with snow.
Bring inside.
Flush down toilet.
Repeat.

Problem solved!
(or transferred if on a septic system...)

 

X2, regardless of how little or how much money a person was perceived to have!

 

That article says that many of the neighbours did help.

 

Roger and Ted,

It pains me to say this because you're both great guys with hearts of gold, but I have to disagree. IMO, the owners WERE looking for a handout. The writeup in the newspaper clearly shows the neighbors were trying to be helpful by shovelling the roof, which clearly supports your comment about being helpful. (roof is the biggest structural safety issue. Snow pack around the house will simply become thermal break against the wind) They even notified the absentee owners of the problem so they could address the issue. The ultimate problem seems to be the location being so exposed to the weather. As Eric pointed out, some proactive measures to screen/protect against snow drifting would go a long way and doesn't appear to have been done. There's no way that house was just built or that this is the first time it's been exposed to heavy snow or drifting. Even out here in AB when we get record snow, contractors are up to the challenge of cleaning roofs if the home owner can't. But, they don't do it for free, and it's not covered by the gov't. If a roof collapses due to snow load? That's an insurance issue.

I'm not advocating that these people don't need help, but I'm not sure that situation qualifies them to have the situation declared an emergency, although every area reserves its right to determine what an emergency is. Perhaps the local Gov't will respond, but that's going to set some precedent that I'm sure they won't want.

The house appears to be older construction and didn't anticipate carrying snow loads of any kind. I have no doubt in my mind that any one of us in a similar bind would help out our neighbors. What I'm not understanding is
Who leaves their house all winter without having someone look after it? Doesn't matter where they went, they planned to be away (even longer) so some kind of planning should have been done. If they were longer term residents they must have known about snow issues, and as mentioned before this is also an insurance concern for frozen water lines etc during their absence.

Not expecting a hand out? I'm sorry but this sounds exactly like a request for a hand out.
It's NOT the only hope. I don't get why the gov't has to be the provider of the service for an excavator and dump truck?? I know lots of folks who have endured worse snow ins and isolation that didn't feel that Gov't intervention was the answer. They just hired the contractor and got it done. Sometimes when situations like this make the news, a good samaritan contractor jumps in to help, in exchange for free company publicity on the media.

This isn't about the $$$ the owners have or don't have, it's about the perception that they're entitled to Gov't intervention (taxpayer $$) to provide a service that could easily be contracted by themselves. Even a bobcat or front end loader would make short work of that snow. It doesn't all need to go - just the access to the house.

I'm sorry, maybe time to step down from the soapbox, but I've had to pay for or do everything without handouts. I honestly don't see what makes this situation entitles them to special consideration.

Last point - I'm not convinced the house is totally buried. I've seen pics like this where the angle of the picture blocks the house to make it appear it's worse than it is. There appears to be separation between the snow pile at the front and the house in the back.

 

Well said, Allan, and I agree - that house is not as snowed-in as the article implies.

- Eric

 

I respect your opinion Allan .....
Port au Choix Telegram has posted pics of the house...I would say it is buried..
Good luck establishing a windbreak on rock..
House is also in a hole which does not help.
The town was clearing while the couple was away in Alberta.....
Private contractor and town loader digging them out presently.
Handouts vs helping ...do not know if we know the whole story.One has to be very careful of selective reporting ..."it would be nice if government helped" vs " the government should help"........

In my little world, given I own the necessary equipment to dig the house out,I would offer my services....it is the right thing to do.

Nothing yanks my chain more people who want something for nothing...esp due to their lack of planning....but circumstances do arise that are unavoidable and that is when it is nice to know somebody other than kin is there to lend a hand...

 

Times have changed. Decades ago a huge blizzard hit and my father was away and could not get back. We had ten people showing up helping us shovel. (You had to go out the 2nd floor window to get out) We then joined them and plowed and shoveled evry house in the neighborhood. We started at the most vulnerable and worked from there. Even the houses that were empty ( people on vacation) we were so excited to do the empty houses 'cause we could call and tell them not to worry'!
We waved to the plow guys and gave them a thumbs up. I guess it was a differant attitude back then. Funny thing; we talk about that storm all the time....it was a very difficult time but the memories of friendship, helping others and neighborhood comming together brings great happy memories. And NOT ONCE DID WE SIT AND WAIT FOR UNCLE SAM

 

good response Sammy