MOORPARK : Students Save Man From Eyesore Fines

A last-minute cleanup effort by a group of high school students saved an elderly Moorpark man from steep fines the city had threatened to impose for the run-down condition of his home.

Edward Bradley, 75, had been facing fines of up to $5,000 and possible jail time if he did not pick up junk piled in his yard and cut back hedges and trees. But with help from a group of Newbury Park Adventist Academy students, responding to published reports on the case, he was able to clean up his property before Wednesday’s court-ordered deadline.

An east county court commissioner ordered Bradley to pay a $125 fine but closed the case against him.

City inspectors told the commissioner they were satisfied with the cleanup work but asked for a $250 fine because it took months of coaxing and finally the threat of heavy fines to get Bradley to comply. The commissioner, also satisfied with the work, cut the fine in half.

Bradley--a retired Air Force major who was the last man to fly the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bombs on Japan, before it was decommissioned--said failing health had made it difficult for him to keep his property clean and repair damages to his home.

Upset that he was fined despite the work put into complying with the court’s order, Bradley said he was glad that at least the case had been closed.

He added that he still has a lot of work to do on the inside of his house.