Brick from old Roosevelt Mission falls on gas meter, causes leak

Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Linton Fire Department, Linton Police Department and Linton Utilities employees were on scene of a gas leak at the rear of the old Roosevelt Mission Tuesday morning. A portion of the brick wall fell on a meter, causing a gas leak.
By Sabrina Stockrahm

A portion of the brick from the rear of the old Roosevelt Mission, located at 89 E Vincennes St., broke off and caused a gas leak.

Linton Fire Department, Linton Police Department and Linton Utilities were on the scene at the vacant building just before 7 a.m. Tuesday to manage the leak.

Fire Chief Brad Sparks said there had been several complaints about a gas leak in the northeast side of town, and Linton Police Department officers were patrolling the area to find the source, when they found a portion of the brick wall in the alley on the back of the old building, next to the former bank building, had fallen.

After turning off the gas meter, crews worked to clear the rubble from the alley between the old Mission and the former bank building.
By Sabrina Stockrahm

“Some time throughout the night, the back wall of the Roosevelt Mission has collapsed and when it did, it collapsed down on the gas meters and broke them off,” Sparks reported just before 8 a.m.

Sparks said due to the fact they were already looking for a gas leak, the gas department was on scene quickly to turn the gas lines off.

“We blocked the area off until we got the gas lines shut down,” Sparks said.

There were no injuries reported, and Sparks said he believes very few people were impacted by turning off the gas, if any at all.

“We don’t know what is going to become of it. We are probably going to have to barricade the area off for a little bit around the building. I don’t know how extensive that is going to get but when daylight gets here we can look it over some more,” Sparks said.

Avoid the area around the old Roosevelt Mission.

The area where the brick fell in the back of the building.
By Sabrina Stockrahm
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  • They need to tear that building down it’s really dangerous it’s a piece of Linton history it’s a shame it got in this shape

    -- Posted by hellomisskitty66 on Tue, Feb 18, 2020, at 9:41 AM
  • I worked there as a waitress, for a pretty long time. I opened up at 5:30 for all the truckers coming through. They all brought there thermos in every morning to get ready for work and ate breakfast. I had 4 Bunn coffee makers going non stop every day. It was a very nice place to work way back in the 60's. I know it needs torn down, but if there is anything that could be saved and put in the library or Carnegie hall it is part of history.

    Dorothy Coleman Stauffer

    -- Posted by nanasuzy on Tue, Feb 18, 2020, at 10:17 AM
  • The building is beyond repairing

    -- Posted by hellomisskitty66 on Tue, Feb 18, 2020, at 7:33 PM
  • It's sad that Jerry French cared so little... The woodwork in the lobby, the tile, all were once beautiful! I am absolutely saddened at the shape Jerry French allowed thing's (the building) to become.

    -- Posted by Common sense... on Wed, Feb 19, 2020, at 1:16 PM
  • This building, like others in the downtown area, are restorable - all it takes is the proper resources. The challenge is the property taxes,.. which for many of us, are a game changer. Additionally, we have at least 2 generations of youth who know little of the traditional downtown shopping/eating experience. Retailing has shifted it's position in recent decades, and there are numerous small towns around the Midwest which are basically fading away from their historical roots. If I were to guess, the old Roosevelt Hotel will be deemed unstable, and will likely see the wrecking ball.

    -- Posted by jhineman2 on Fri, Feb 21, 2020, at 12:50 PM
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