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Police continue investigation regarding vandalized house

HEIDI DESCH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 7 months AGO
by HEIDI DESCH
Heidi Desch is features editor and covers Flathead County for the Daily Inter Lake. She previously served as managing editor of the Whitefish Pilot, spending 10 years at the newspaper and earning honors as best weekly newspaper in Montana. She was a reporter for the Hungry Horse News and has served as interim editor for The Western News and Bigfork Eagle. She is a graduate of the University of Montana. She can be reached at hdesch@dailyinterlake.com or 406-758-4421. | October 14, 2019 11:38 AM

Whitefish Police continue to investigate vandalism to a historic home on Lupfer Avenue that has since been demolished.

Assistant Police Chief Bridger Kelch said the investigation is ongoing regarding damage to the house that was located at the corner of Luper and Second Street.

“We’re following up on any leads or any other information we have, but at this point it’s pretty stale,” Kelch said last week.

Developer Mark Panissidi last month said he had planned to move the building to another location rather than tear it down, but vandalism to the home in the form of cut floor joists made it unsafe to relocate.

Panissidi notified City Council of the issue on Sept. 16 and the home was demolished later that week, though some parts of it were salvaged.

Del Mar Pacific Group, headed up by Panissidi, received approval in June to construct a mixed-use building containing residential and commercial units on the site.

The project drew criticism from neighbors who said the new building wouldn’t fit in with the neighborhood and also those who didn’t want to see the historic home lost.

The house was originally the home of Jemima Duncan and J.A. Samson, who constructed the brick Duncan Samson building in 1910 that is located across Lupfer from the property.

MORE FRONT-PAGE-SLIDER STORIES

Developer says vandalism causes home to be unmovable
Whitefish Pilot | Updated 5 years, 8 months ago
Board rejects plan for mixed-use building on Lupfer
Whitefish Pilot | Updated 6 years ago
Sickened by loss of historic home
Whitefish Pilot | Updated 5 years, 8 months ago

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