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| 27 May 16 18:20:38 |
From: judgebean23x@gmail.com Creeping black mold and fungus may be spreading through your walls and infiltrating your lungs before you know it’s there. ***** EXCLUSIVE FEATURED MOLD TAKES HOLD: Family finds nowhere to turn RICK MARK rmark@countrymedia.net May 26, 2016 2 Health issues linked to mold News Guard photo/Rick Mark Joaquin and Stephanie Waldroop, holding Lura, 2. Children affected News Guard photo/Rick Mark The Waldroops' older children: Jarrod, 9, and Aria, 7. Fungus in wall News Guard photo/Rick Mark A leaky bathroom drain was blamed for fungus growing inside the walls of the Waldroops' apartment. Mold on floor News Guard photo/Rick Mark Mold was found growing behind the baseboards. Creeping black mold and fungus may be spreading through your walls and infiltrating your lungs before you know it’s there. How can you tell? And what can you do about it? Joaquin and Stephanie Waldroop of Lincoln City think they have been living with mold-infested walls for years, but the insidious problem became obvious to them only a few months ago. By then, they say, their health problems had started multiplying: body rashes, severe headaches, nosebleeds, colds that refused to quit. A child with kidney stones. Their baby’s teeth started to decay. Even their dog and cat had skin trouble. They didn’t realize, they said, that they smelled moldy, too. Friends and family didn’t want to mention it. Calls for help have gone nowhere. The family has lived in their southeast Lincoln City apartment for six years. In March, they said, the property owners finally responded to their long-standing complaint about a leak in the kitchen. When a maintenance worker tore the wall open, he found a leak in an upstairs bathroom drain. By then, mold and fungus were blooming in the walls. “We notified four different onsite managers before anyone came to look at our wall,” Joaquin said. “After they saw the mold, workers came wearing haz-mat suits.” In April, the Waldroops abandoned their home. “Our doctor said to walk away,” said Joaquin. “She said to not touch anything in the home. She said our cherished items, like stuffed animals, were contaminated and we can’t take them with us.” They’ve been living with friends and in motels, they said, as they try to figure out what to do about their lease. The biggest frustration, Joaquin said, was the feeling that they had nowhere to turn, no one who cared enough or who had power enough to help. Calls to the city were fruitless. They called a few lawyers, but found none who could help at a price they could pay. Renting another home would be too difficult, they said. “In order to move, we would need first and last month’s rent and a security deposit,” Joaquin said. “That’s not going to happen.” Joaquin takes home about $1,600 a month as a postal clerk in Depoe Bay. Stephanie home-schools the kids: Jarrod, 9, Aria, 7, and Lura, 2. They pay $870 a month for their two-bedroom townhome. They eventually called Mayor Don Williams, who arranged a “mayor’s forum” on short notice a few weeks ago. There, the Waldroops were able to tell their story to three city councilors: Williams, Kip Ward and Dick Anderson, and to the few interested citizens who attended. But no one had an answer for their question: Where could they turn? “You expect the standard to be a certain quality of life,” Joaquin said. “You expect to be able to have things fixed. To know that you have a lot of problems and no way to fix them is very frustrating.” The News Guard made a few calls and found no good answers. The Lincoln County Health Department does not address private dwellings, a spokesman said. The Lincoln City planning department issues building permits that certify the safety and livability of dwellings, “but once the property is built and they’ve passed the inspections,” a clerk in the department said, “then we don’t have any more to do with the project, unless there’s an upgrade.” “From a building code standpoint,” said City Planner Richard Townsend, “we have nothing that applies once a building is built.” The Planning Department suggested calling the city’s code enforcement officer, who works out of the Police Department. “We don’t enforce habitability,” said Josh Cunningham, who enforces Lincoln City’s Municipal Code. “We can get involved in some health and safety issues, but only if a problem at a property is causing degradation of the neighborhood. If someone s property is a fire risk, for example, we can step in. “If the problem is inside the home, we don’t get involved,” he said. “We can’t test for mold.” Even if the Waldroops could afford an attorney, there’s not much a lawyer can do. “If a dwelling is not habitable, I can help the tenant get out of their lease so they can move,” said Joshua Zantello, a Lincoln City attorney who sometimes works with landlord-tenant issues. “But I can’t force the landlord to correct the problem. ” The story might be different if the Waldroops lived in Portland. There, the Oregon Community Alliance of Tenants participates in the Portland Mold Relocation Assistance program. “If you have mold in your house that is making you sick, and the landlord refuses to make the needed repairs, you may be eligible for financial assistance,” says CAT’s website (oregoncat.org). “Eligible tenants can receive assistance for moving costs, deposits, and first and last month’s rent.” Multnomah County, which includes Portland, issues guidelines for landlords and tenants in a 56-page brochure called “Rent Right: Knowledge, Stability, Responsibility.” Landlords should make sure a home is waterproof and weatherproof, the guidelines say, but renters “should take steps to control excess moisture.” For example, the brochure says, a landlord must provide a working bathroom fan, but it’s up to the tenant to use it. Unfortunately, the Waldroops’ health issues from mold are not that uncommon. “I have other families I’m working with who are dealing with mold,” said Dr. Nicole McCauley of Depoe Bay. “Black mold, specifically, is very nasty.” [continued in next message] --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05 * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2) |
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