Rubble from Oct. 1 car crash says ‘Welcome to Ellerbe’
By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com
* Car crashes into Ellerbe business
ELLERBE — The rubble that remains from an eight-month-old car crash will hopefully be removed within the month.
Mayor Lee Berry said Monday night during the public comment period of the Town Council’s monthly meeting that he spoke with a representative of the owner of the property at the corner of Main and North Ledbetter streets. The property is owned by J & S Wholesale and Rentals in Asheboro.
Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com
Ellerbe Mayor Lee Berry reported that the rubble that once was the home of Sissy’s Pet Grooming could be removed – finally – within a month.
The property was the former home of Sissy’s Pet Grooming until Oct. 1, 2014. That’s when Pinehurst resident Jared Johnson, 30, crashed his vehicle into the business — it was closed that Wednesday afternoon. Johnson told The Pee Dee Post the day of the crash that he wasn’t “paying attention.”
The property now features a building that includes a ground-level roof and weeds sprouting over knee high along with a structure that appears ready to fall over with the next gust of wind.
Berry said town officials have tried for months — in vain — to remedy the problem, which is across from Dixie Burger and at a key point along the town’s main thoroughfare when visitors enter the town. Asbestos was an issue, and having volunteers from the Ellerbe Fire Department burn it wasn’t possible because of the proximity of an overhead power line and a plastic fence on the adjacent property.
Berry said the owner “promised me in two weeks he would send a backhoe and a dump truck to tear it down and haul it off. I know that’s an eyesore. I look at it every single morning.”
He said the rubble has been a long-term sign of unwelcome into Ellerbe.
“Welcome to Ellerbe,” Berry said. “Here’s a tore-up house.”
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