Northern Ontario village calls for town council to tear down moldy, ugly old school

The people of one small northern Ontario village are pushing their town council to remove an ugly and dangerous eyesore.

Hundreds of kids attended Ecole Sainte-Marie in Field from the 1960s until it closed in 2001.

It was sold to a private owner in 2004, has changed hands since then and no one is really certain who owns the building now.

But people in Field do know the affect the dangerous eyesore has on them.

"We have citizens living next to something that resembles a disaster," Kenneth Paquette told West Nipissing town council Tuesday.

"In the summer, residents in the immediate vicinity breathe and smell the mould."

All the windows are broken and wild animals have moved into the old school, which looms over Field from a hilltop.

"It is collapsing and the situation is only going to get worse. It is a barrier to economic development, a visual blight on West Nipissing for any tourists," Paquette said.

Most councillors agreed with the 545 citizens who signed a petition calling for the abandoned school to be demolished.

"This is not a Field issue. This is a West Nipissing issue," said councillor Dan Roveda.

"That building should have come down a long time ago."

"Heart-wrenching to see a school in this disrepair. So something needs to be done,"said councillor Roland Larabie.

"It's not something should be done, something needs to be done."

But what that is, was not discussed. It is set to be on the agenda for another town council meeting in early February.

It can be very complicated for municipalities to seize control of derelict buildings and the demolition bill can be very expensive.

"A cheap solution would be bring a hoe there, knock'er down," offered Paquette.

"I'm an operator, I'd even do it for nothing."