U.S.
The government shutdown has forced an elderly couple out of their Lake Mead, Nev., home – because it sits on federal land.
Ralph and Joyce Spencer, 80 and 77 respectively, drove into town for supplies last Wednesday and on their way back they found two rangers blocking their way. They were given less than 24 hours to pack their things, after which, the road would be barricaded.
“One of the rangers, a guy that we know, he said ‘I’m really sorry to tell you this but you have to move out, you have to leave,’” Joyce Spencer told Al Jazeera.
The Spencers have owned the house since the 1970s and run an ice cream shop in nearby Overton, Nevada. Joyce said the ranger who gave them the news is a "good guy" who comes into the ice cream shop all the time.
“They said it’s just like in 1995 during the last government shut down and I said they didn’t do any of that,” Joyce said.
The Spencers’ property is classified as a vacation cabin, and they pay a yearly lease on the land that goes to the national recreation area because the property sits near Lake Mead. Joyce told Al Jazeera there is a clause in the contract that says it can’t be a permanent residence, and they usually stay there “about half of the time.”
While Joyce says she’s not mad, she told Al Jazeera that the experience has been frustrating and inconvenient, “The lot’s ours and we own it -- we have a right to be there.”
There are about 25 other homes in the Spencers’ area, Joyce said, but only about four homes were occupied at the time of the shutdown. The couple has been allowed back into their house briefly by authorities since Wednesday's road closure, but they must report in and out and are not allowed to stay.
Though the Spencers own a second home in Nevada, they have said that as they have gotten older, it’s been easier for them to stay at the one-story Lake Mead home, which is also closer to their business and family.
Joyce’s husband has a hard time walking and gets around on a power wheelchair.
“He can’t hardly walk … he’s 80 years old,” Joyce said. “We like the lake house because there’s no steps. Our other place has a lot of steps and it’s hard to get up and down.”
After being blocked from their home, the Spencers packed up their fifth-wheel trailer and parked it on their daughter’s property in Overton, a town on the north end of Lake Mead.
“Ralph has a little trouble getting in and out of the camper,” Joyce said. “But we’re fine … we’ll be fine.”
Joyce said her biggest worry was security because Lake Mead attracts a lot of tourists and visitors from out of town, and no one was there to watch their property.
“No one’s down there watching it and people can get past the barricades,” Joyce said. “You don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Many parts of the U.S. government have been shuttered or slowed because Congress has failed to pass a stop-gap funding plan. Monday is the seventh day of the federal shutdown.
Error
Sorry, your comment was not saved due to a technical problem. Please try again later or using a different browser.