Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 30, 1990 TAG: 9006300214
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PETER MATHEWS NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: SHAWSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
This week, some of the tenants called the state Health Department and the Montgomery County building inspector's office and asked them to inspect the park.
Then they called newspapers and radio and television stations.
"These trailers are unlivable," said Michael Nearing, who has been evicted, effective today. He was a month behind on his $210 monthly rent.
"If they could show me legitimate problems, I'd be happy to repair anything," said James W. Radford Jr., who owns the park with his wife, Lynn.
Some repairs have been made since reporters and inspectors started converging on the park, which is next to the Shawnee Motel on U.S. 11/460. In fact, the park's maintenance people were fixing the door to Nearing's trailer when a reporter arrived for an interview about 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Visits to the park, which has about two dozen trailers, revealed considerable disagreement about how people feel about the Radfords, who also run the Oak Forest trailer park near Montgomery Regional Hospital.
"Jimmy Radford's always done exactly what he said he'd do," said Julia Furrow, 69, who said she has lived at the Shawsville park for nearly 13 years. "He might be a few days late, but he sure got it done."
But others cited a litany of problems. Nearing said his water heater is falling through the floor, built-in dressers are unusable, and his trailer has electrical problems and is infested with roaches.
Nancy Light said her kitchen cabinets appear to be falling down and nothing else in her kitchen is level, either, because the floor slants.
Light took a visitor out behind her trailer Wednesday night and asked another woman to turn on her kitchen faucet. Water poured down to the foundation and there was a discernible odor of sewage.
The sink was hooked up to the sewer line Thursday morning, said Vic Marcussen of the Health Department. Marcussen said there was no evidence of open sewage, and the odor resulted from stirring up the water already under the trailer.
Another tenant, who asked not to be named, said her furnace does not work. Lynn Radford said Friday that it would be replaced before cold weather set in.
Another tenant began to describe a water leak in her kitchen as the park's maintenance man stood nearby. After going inside with him for a few minutes, she returned and said she had nothing to say.
Several tenants said their windows lacked screens, were cracked or would not open or close.
But not everyone was critical of the Radfords.
James Maxey said he has been as much as $1,000 behind in his rent when out of work, but the Radfords have always been patient.
"Jimmy's good to everybody that's good to Jimmy," Furrow said.
The Rev. Harry Scott of Christiansburg said the Radfords have worked well with social service agencies. Trailer park owners often bend over backward to avoid evicting people, he said.
County building officials said they could do little for the tenants. That is because Montgomery has never adopted a housing maintenance code, said Wayne Mannon of the building inspector's office.
Some residents said they cannot work and are dependent on social-service programs for help with their bills and, in some cases, repairs.
Kery Hudler, who said he lives in Statesville, N.C., and was visiting Nearing, blamed low pay scales.
"If I was making $4.25 an hour and feeding three kids, I'd be right in here wallowing with the rest of them," he said.
Scott acknowledged that it's not always easy to go elsewhere.
"We could probably use more affordable housing," he said. "One of the problems is credit checks - some of these folks don't have good credit histories." So they end up at trailer parks, where the rules aren't as stringent.
The Radfords said they often let people pay their rent or utility bills late. And although Lynn Radford called some of her tenants "chronic complainers," she said the repair problems they cited had never been brought to her attention.
Light said she is tired of waiting for repairs.
"Tomorrow never comes down here," she said.
by CNB