If you think the roads are bad, you should see some of the buildings.
It’s easy to believe many residents and visitors probably get that impression in parts of Monongalia County.
Of course, there are thousands of structures in Monongalia County and scores in Osage that are beautiful, ranging from the tidily modest to the stately awesome.
Yet, along our roads and unincorporated areas too many buildings are simply eyesores. And we’re not talking about the grass needing cut, either.
No, what we refer to are structures that were abandoned years ago and are way beyond repair or the fixer-upper stage, yet are still standing, barely.
And that’s just judging these buildings’ condition from the outside. One can only imagine what lies behind their broken windows, sagging roofs and cracked walls.
However, the top prize might go to the dilapidated eyesore along Osage’s Main Street that looks like it was hit by a World War II era aerial bomb in World War II.
Though it appears the county is taking action to auction what’s left of this building, it’s obvious the condition of this site is nothing new.
We are not going to rehash the lengthy process to ultimately sell this building at auction — the buyer of which must then raze the site and remove the debris — which we doubt few, if any, would ever want any part of.
Nor is it worth questioning the efficiency and effectiveness of this process for the moment. It’s obvious.
It’s apparent that agencies that are supposed to address this issue are inadequate. Not to mention, funding to raze these buildings or force owners into compliance through the courts is lacking.
Instead, what we question is how long has this building been in this condition?
As a rule, newspapers don’t guess at facts, yet, judging by the condition of this building and anecdotal evidence this site was likely in this condition years ago, as in more than five.
That leaves us to wonder where was the Abandoned and Dilapidated Property Enforcement Agency all this time?
And leads us to believe, as one lifetime resident of Osage observed last week, “If this was going on anywhere other than Osage, it would have never gotten to be like this.”
Osage’s Main Street, like so many small mining towns of yore, 50-60 years ago was almost as lively as High Street on a Friday night. But also like those small towns of yore it ended up on the back roads of history — out of sight, out of mind.
Still that cannot justify not responding to concerns about such squalor for however many years it’s existed.
Though we may not pass this way much, the sight of such structures stands out for way too long.
