Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Hay River (July 04/05) - A family evicted from land in Hay River is wondering what's happening to the belongings they left behind.

Donna Nessel says she and her husband, Greg, were told by the Town of Hay River they would receive something back once debts with the town are paid from the sale of their belongings.

"Sell everything, but give us the remainder of the money," she said recently from her new home in Edmonton.

Hay River Mayor Diana Ehman says there were no saleable items left on the property. "We are just cleaning it up," Ehman says.

The mayor notes the court awarded all the items to the town. "As we said, if there was a sale, it would be applied to the debt.

"If the debt and the court costs were recovered, they then would be entitled to receive the rest of the money from the sale of the property."

There has been no sale.

In February, a court ordered Greg Nessel to vacate the land by midnight March 31 because of unpaid lease fees and property taxes totalling $7,133. The court also ordered him to remove a house and other possessions, or they would become town property.

Donna Nessel says the house and other property left on the land are worth over $100,000. Along with the house, she says the items include cars, a boat and a trailer.

Since being evicted, Greg Nessel has received a bill from the Town of Hay River for the amount owed to the municipality.

The Nessels and their children are settling into a new house in Edmonton. For the first several days in Edmonton, Greg and his son stayed in a truck, while Donna and their daughters stayed with her mother.

"We're doing good now," Donna says.