SENIOR citizens who lost their wooden St. David's home in a devastating fire two years ago have now been accused of encroaching on their neighbour's property in order to build a driveway for their new dwelling.

Jennifer Caines, who owns an undeveloped parcel of land on Great Bay Road, believes the act was deliberate and that it was supported by officials who fast-tracked a Planning application submitted by Chesley Foggo, Delores Binns and David Landy, despite the absence of relevant criteria.

She feels she was denied "due process" in the matter as her "objection letter was disregarded without justification by the Department of Planning" and "the requisite legal documents" needed to counter her arguments, were not produced.

"My concern is the fact that they underhandedly proceeded with this project with every intention of encroaching on my property, as I mentioned in my objection letter," she complained. "I believe their application was fast-tracked at a ministerial level and I do believe the present Minister of the Environment (Neletha Butterfield) was involved in the process and is quite familiar with it yet wants nothing to do with it now. Throughout this process I have encountered disregard for my property rights and dishonesty, resulting in pure frustration for me, which could have been avoided had the correct policies and procedures been adhered to."

Mr. Foggo's wife Thelma, and their three grandchildren were inside their home when a fire broke out in the kitchen, in January, 2005. They managed to escape but, as wooden houses cannot be insured, they tragically lost everything.

Residents responded to their plight with donations of cash and clothing and, only a few days later, former Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent was able to move them into a new property at Southside.

Not everyone appreciated the swift acts of generosity however. A family cousin Gail Paynter, whose house had also burned down, questioned what she perceived as special treatment: "When we lost everything, no one came to help us. We all have horror stories. It's disgusting. Who came to help us? What happened to the homes for the rest of us? What happened to the fire victims. It's wrong."

Mrs. Caines said that the family's

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See also 'Someone Pulled Strings' on Page 3