RESIDENTS CHEER AS FORMER SITE OF METH LAB DESTROYED

'It Feels So Good To Finally See This House Be Torn Down'

A track hoe smashed through the roof Tuesday of a house on Bazzell
Drive. Windows crashed, wooden material crumbled - and neighbors cheered.

"Tear it down! Tear it down!" Katie Ballard screamed, leading a
crowd of onlookers to do the same.

As each side of the house folded, a burden was lifted.

"It feels so good to finally see this house be torn down," Ballard
said, her face beaming.

About four months ago, the house in the 1000 block of Bazzell Drive
in West Longview brought shame to the community, neighbors said.

On Nov. 10, things changed.

Inside the house, fire officials found what one investigator called
the area's "biggest meth lab in recent history."

Ballard said people in the community were enraged when they learned
that chemicals used to make methamphetamine were inches away from
catching fire and possibly exploding, putting many residents in danger.

"I was out here that day, madder than a hornet," Ballard said.

Ballard, manager of Prestige Builders, lives in the neighborhood
where fire officials discovered the meth lab.

Instead of letting her anger get the best of her, Ballard said she
decided to do her part to re-establish the community.

The day after the fire, Ballard approached her boss, Lorrie Pitre,
and proposed that the company look into buying the property.

Tuesday, Ballard stood in front of the house and clapped because her
goal had been accomplished.

The home was about to be foreclosed because of back taxes, and
Ballard said Prestige Builders was able to buy the property. The
company plans to build a home to sell to another family.

The new home will be a 1,600-square-foot, ranch-style home that will
be "suited for the community," Ballard said.

Patricia Hampton, a resident of the community who is the guardian of
two grandchildren, said she was pleased to see the house gone.

"I think this is so fantastic," Hampton said. "Now the kids can play outside."

Mayor Jay Dean said Tuesday that he is proud that people in Longview
work together for the betterment of the city and community.

"I think this project speaks well for the people of Prestige
Builders," the mayor said. "The fact that we have people like that
in the community that will help us get rid of things like meth labs
in our community and help our redevelopment is wonderful."

"It was labor of love," Ballard said.