Abandoned house source of frustration for Yankee Ridge residents

There's nothing unusual about a vacant house. But one that has sat empty for nearly 30 years in the heart of a swank Urbana subdivision raises eyebrows.

The home owned by Henri Merkelo not only has raised eyebrows, but also the ire of neighbors living on Pine Circle in Yankee Ridge. The neighborhood, on the outskirts of Urbana, with its architecturally distinctive homes, is not the sort of place you would expect to find a long-abandoned house.

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