Sex Offender Shuffle

A donated house gets a better tenant

by Vickie Elmer

posted 11/18/2009

When they moved to Glacier Hills, Henry Vander Kaay and his wife, Doretha, since deceased, gave their home next to Eberwhite Woods to the Salvation Army. Last year, the church put it up for sale, planning to use the money to provide more scholarships to its summer camps. Things seemed to be going well, says listing agent Jackie Wright. A couple offered a very handsome price, signed a contract, and paid for a home inspection. But then, Wright says, they learned that the woods belong to the public schools. The husband was a registered sex offender--and state law prohibited him from living within 1,000 feet of school property.

The $235,000 house ended up being occupied by the church's own youth director. He'll live there for a year, says Major John Williams, after which the Army will again try to sell the house--hopefully in "a little stronger housing market." And, Williams adds, "donors stepped up to cover the day camp." This summer attendance quadrupled, to sixty kids a week.   

[Originally published in November, 2009.]