Wednesday's Butler Eagle front page article about the former Chant-ler Bakery building at the intersection of South Monroe Street and Center Avenue no doubt rekindled memories of an incident in May 1999.

May 18 of that year was the day that a wall of the long-vacant former Woolworth's building at South Main and East Cunningham streets in the city's central business district collapsed, raining debris on the adjoining sidewalk and East Cunningham, crushing a sport utility vehicle that was parked next to the building.

Fortunately, no one was injured, although a pedestrian escaped the collapse as the wall began to buckle. The vehicle's owner, Barb Thomas, was on her way to put money in her parking meter at the time but luckily hadn't arrived there yet.

"I could have been standing right there," she said.

It is the memory of the Woolworth's collapse that city officials should keep in their minds as they continue to apply pressure on John Keffalas, the former bakery building's owner, to address his building's precarious situation as quickly as possible.

Paul Snyder, city code enforcement officer, said Wednesday that Keffalas, who hasn't made repairs to the building despite being cited for code violations as recently as last year, has been given 30 days to either repair or raze the building.

"We are prepared to tear that building down immediately," said Mayor Maggie Stock, presumably if Keffalas fails to comply with the latest order.

A contractor was checking out the site Wednesday, and Snyder indicated that Keffalas was intending to pursue demolition.

Regarding neighborhood concerns about possible black mold and asbestos in the building, Snyder said it would be a contractor's responsibility to make such a determination and then find a way to deal with it in an environmentally safe way.

Judging from the condition of the building, it is important that that be done as soon as possible within the 30-day window.

A portion of the Chantler building's roof has collapsed, pushing the wall along South Monroe Street outward. The parts of South Monroe and Center Avenue along the building have been cordoned off to keep traffic and pedestrians out of harm's way. However, as long as the building continues to stand in its current condition, there can be no guarantee that the building, were it to give way, would not rain debris beyond the cordoned-off area.

The area around the former bakery building is both a residential and business area.

The Butler Eagle of May 19, 1999, which reported on the Woolworth's collapse, which occurred at about 1:30 p.m. the day before, carried the headline "A bulge, a crash and sighs of relief: Woolworth's crumbles but no one hurt."

At a city council meeting on the evening of May 18, 1999, just hours after the Woolworth wall's collapse, then-Mayor Richard Schontz said, "We'll do everything we have to to make sure that area is safe."

That must be current city officials' attitude in regard to the Chantler Bakery structure.

The city displayed weak muscle in previous attempts to address the building's worsening condition and Keffalas' failure to exercise an appropriate level of responsibility. Now officials have no choice.

There is no window for further patience.