A New View of Vacant Houses

The women walked up Pannell's front path, past her burgundy sport-utility vehicle with the stickers reading "Sudley Springs, Virginia 20109 Is For Lovers" and "Where's the Fence?" Inside, Kipp sat on the living room carpet, while Pannell settled into the plush sofa.

They said they feel sure the county will recoup the cost of the crackdown through savings on social services and English instruction for immigrant children. Quality of life will improve, Pannell said, "and you can't put a price on that."

When Pannell looks out her window at the house next to her mother's, she said she sees the beginnings.

Before the house was foreclosed on in the summer, Pannell said, about 20 single men lived there, one of whom she said she saw urinate on the front lawn one Saturday afternoon three years ago as her daughter and stepdaughter played across the street.

Recently, a single man moved in. "An insurance agent," Pannell said approvingly. She and Kipp hope teachers and firefighters will follow.

"This was not an election-year gimmick. . . . This was us demanding," Kipp said. "You have to start small. And we knew we could do something here."

"It might not be the biggest or the best plan," Pannell said.

"But it's working," Kipp said.

"It's working," Pannell echoed.