New evidence of mice at City Market Building
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New evidence of mice at City Market Building
Updated from earlier today. City says evidence was a trap that had been tripped.5:25 p.m.
By Scott Leamon:
Roanoke city spokeswoman Melinda Mayo said the evidence was a tripped trap inside the building. She said the trap did not contain a mouse. Soruces familiar with what happened said the bait had been removed. Mayo said the city’s hired exterminator, Terminix, set more than 250 traps in the building.
Mayo said Terminix had gone three days without catching a mouse in the market until sometime overnight Sunday, when someone discovered the trap.
She said Terminix will continue setting traps until “the problem is under control.“
Mayo said she did not know if workers were still finding droppings inside the building.
Mayo said the building would be closed until at least Thursday, which is the next scheduled meeting at the market between city leaders, the health department, and other key players involved.
Several contractors said off camera they couldn’t see the building being ready to open until sometime next week at the earliest.
11:43 a.m.
From Scott Leamon in the field:
Bobby Parker with the Virginia Department of Health says there is new evidence of mice getting into the City Market Building, despite the cleaning and repair that has been done since the City closed the building more than a week ago.
The City will hold another meeting on Thursday.
We’re still trying to determine where in the market building that inspectors found the new evidence of mice.
Watch WSLS at six for a live update on what inspectors found, and where.
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11:07 a.m.
From Scott Leamon, in the field
Meeting has started.
Roanoke City Manager Darlene Burcham, and City Councilwoman Gwen Mason are in attendance. Health Department inspectors there as well.
Watch WSLS at noon for a live update on what comes out from the meeting.
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1:33 a.m.
The Virginia Department of Health and Roanoke city leaders are still mum on when they think the Market Building might reopen.
Roanoke city manager Darlene Burcham avoided talking to reporters stationed in front of the building Friday.
Burcham, along with other city administration, attended a meeting with health department employees at the Market Building around noon Friday.
Health department spokesman Bobby Parker said afterward not much had changed after the meeting.
Parker said a “significant” amount of work had been done to the building’s interior and “a lot” more work was left to do.
Nearby restaurant owners reported an influx of customers in the days after the market’s closure.
Owners termed business as “steady” since.
Parker said the health department and city leaders will meet again Monday at 11 AM to discuss the market’s status.
Reader Reactions
don’t eat at your local mcdonald’s or franchaise restaurant. especially the food court at the mall. one of the reasons it was moved downstairs all together is to contain the mice who were getting into the department store storage areas. terminex said the problem is “comparable” to other restaurants. scary thought especially considering the size of the building. i’m sorry guys but you are still not seeing the bigger picture. this is not about cleanliness, or mice (please, there are no rats and no roaches), or whose fault all that is. what it all comes down to is the future of that building and the extent that the city has taken things for its dismissal. it’s been dirty and cruel.
Most people who are reading this are on the outside looking in through the eyes of the media. The media does not have the best reputation for reporting the whole story. The city owns the building and has neglected it for many years, the health department has been neglegent in not siteing more vendors for cleanliness issues, and the fire marshall has looked the other way while code violations have been accuring. Tell me how come in one day, 6 health inspectors can show up and with no prior notice close down 10 restaurants? I smell a rat and it is not in the city market building.
The mayor said today that the city are slum-lords. I’m not talking about blame for the rodents, obviously as I stated before, all you can people can focus on. I’m talking about the bigger picture. Look past the media and into what has been going on with the market building in the past year and the extent to what it has come to. The city has put the vendors on year leases, having them hang onto their businesses without knowing what the future may hold. As to renovations, the city has also had the vendors hands tied. Chico has tried to ask the city if he could renovate his own place only to have them turn him down. I could go on but I’m sure it’s only going in one ear and out the other.
I think there are two issues here. First issue, if the city owns the building, then the city should fix any structural, cosmetic, and safety issues as related to the actual Market Building. Second, the individual proprietors that operate eating establishment should definitely be cleaning in and around their area. There is no excuse for such uncleanliness. No wonder there are mice! Whether the mice are getting in due to structural damage, etc. there is just no excuse for anyone that runs an eatery to allow such filth!
Maybe someone should explain to you where some of these places are located that needed to be swept and mopped like fire escapes, basements, empty stalls… Places that the city as managers and landlords should be responsible for. The problem is that the media can show the little bits that they think the public is interested in but all in all, the public is not told the bigger picture. Understand that what is being done are RENOVATIONS. Renovations that the city wanted done before the museum opened. They’ve insisted that the vendors pay for the walls, floors, and ceiling work that’s being done. Understand that these vendors are closed right now—there is no income coming in. Also, the city was supposed to be responsible for these items. It’s a ploy folks. The supposed rodent problem that everyone is so fixated on is not the whole picture. The only major rodent you will find right now is the city and some members of council playing dirty politics and not caring about the livelihoods of people that actually make the city what it is. If they get their way, i hope you all enjoy your burger king and pizza hut—you know they’re usually employeed with teenagers who are so much cleaner. oh, and the fresh produce used from the vendors downtown - kiss that good bye as well.
As they say, you don’t know what you got, ‘til it’s gone.
I would just like to say this in this matter , somebody had to have seen this happening , the pictures of some of the locations do not look like they have been cleaned at all in a good while for it to look like that ! the people running this can shift the blame but who is to blame when the floors and other places in the areas where food is being prepared is as nasty as was shown in the pictures ?because somebody is not cleaning these places , rats and other critters are going to come to when the place is not being kept up ! instead of blaming get a broom and mop and start cleaning !
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