| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Mar 23 2011 : 07:06:53 AM
I live in an older subdivision, dating from abut 1900 or so. It's a sweet little place, where all my neighbors are elderly and take meticulous care of their lawns and houses, etc...in fact, I think I can hardly catch up with them!!!
My elderly neighbor to the right of me, Ms. W., has been ill for many years, and is now 92. Her grand daughter (well into her 40's) is a notorious meth head, alcoholic, crazy person who crashes there whenever she gets evicted, and in the last few years has really taken advantage of Mrs. W and her generosity. Social services has been called several times.
Yesterday, my husband was out clearing the lower portion of our yard , clearing brush, and noted a brand new bunch of garbage (like, half the hillside) they've dumped over the hill. Used dish drainers, clothes, plastic containers...all things that the actual GARBAGE PEOPLE would take, so I'm uncertain as to why it would be dumped over the hill...but it's disgusting. They were already cited by the EPA a few years ago for garbage that was environmentally damaging that they'd been dumping for years, and had 10 days to clean it up to the EPA's satisfaction. The EPA tested the creek and found lots of toxins and related it to their refridgerators, hot water heaters, etc...I hate to cause Mrs. W. trouble, but her grandaughter brings it upon them.
The granddaughter backed into my fenceline last Autumn while drunk and I never said anything about it--she even tried to "fix" it by tying it up with yellow nylon rope. I just felt it was better to leave it alone. But this? I do my best to care for my little controlled environment as organically as I can. It's not fair to my little one to have to live next door to someone who goes out of their way to MISTREAT the environment. If I didn't have to SEE the garbage each time we go to pick blackberries this summer, I probably wouldn't think much of it, but as it is, it's ruining the enjoyment of our property.
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Violets November |
Posted - Mar 26 2011 : 10:03:53 PM
So terrible to have someone right next door like that.
So selfish and inconsiderate.
~Violet~
Farmgirl Sister #1669
My blog, http://hiddenacre.blogspot.com/
Our Organic Jewelry, http://www.etsy.com/shop/GaelicForge |
| hiscountrypumpkin |
Posted - Mar 26 2011 : 9:04:08 PM
I hope something is done about your neighbor..That's awful..I like the idea of you going and checking on her welfare..Plus gives some reconnecting time..Do you have a Senior Services in your area? Maybe they could help..Best of Luck... |
| graciegreeneyes |
Posted - Mar 26 2011 : 08:32:22 AM
What a yucky situation Jonni - sorry you have to deal with it.
Farmgirl #224
"use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"
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| Annab |
Posted - Mar 24 2011 : 09:47:51 AM
That's right up there w/ our neighbor who burns all his trash. I mean ALL of it, plastics included.
He seems to choose to do this on the really nice days too. So I either have to close the door and or close the door and go on a long walk in the woods away from the property.
And there ar old heaps of trach all over where my DH kin used to live. It's pretty bad.
2 years ago we cashed in and were able to sell aobut 1,000 worth of metal.
If there's a way to do it, I'd anomously call someone connected to the EPA and get this stuff removed. Sorry the elderly woman's trashy kinfolk have to bring it down to this level |
| missusprim |
Posted - Mar 24 2011 : 07:35:56 AM
My honest opinion is that your elderly neighbor, although it's her blood relative and is trying to do the 'right thing' in letting this granddaughter stay with her, most likely dislikes having her at her house. And because she can't lay eyes on what her granddaughter is doing with the trash, that makes it more tragic. If the elderly woman has lived there for years, I imagine she used to maintain her property just as immaculately as the surrounding people do when she could and would shudder to think that he GD has contributed to its decline.
If your neighbor knows that her granddaughter has drug and other 'issues' - I'd simply make a pest out of myself and visit her often when said granddaughter is not there (or when she is?) to inquire about her health and safety. Tell her of your concerns about your growing child and worries of her GD living with her. That said GD has already ran into your fence and you wonder about this GD's mental and physical state. I'm sure there is a way you can word things in such a way that she can read between the lines. Personally, I'd not only be afraid for her safety, health, etc. - but I'd also wonder if this granddaughter has her sights on getting the house.
Make your neighbor aware of what her GD is doing, it doesn't sound like it's going to stop any time in the future. And who knows, maybe it'd p*ss off the GD to have her Grandma in on her little shenanigans that she'll think twice before crashing at Grams? You, as this woman's neighbor, have every right to an environmentally safe coexistence with her.
As for your daughter, I'd be seriously worried about what all she might find on her own when she's old enough to start exploring on her own. Used needles? Broken beer bottles? Drug paraphernalia?
On that note, I'm sorry you're having to deal with this and being between a rock and a hard place. Best of luck to you and I hope it works itself out for the betterment of everyone!
"Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms." George Eliot
http://onceinnabluemoon.blogspot.com/
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| Alee |
Posted - Mar 23 2011 : 8:23:15 PM
Oh Jonni! What a frustrating situation. I hope that the grand daughter finds her way somewhere away from the neighborhood. I wonder if there is anyway to get a restraining order for her that would be big enough that she couldn't come to Mrs W's house anymore?
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
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| nubidane |
Posted - Mar 23 2011 : 3:15:11 PM
Jonni
I would be a bit concerned that the containers might have been utilied for some meth operation, dependig on what is there. Be careful! |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Mar 23 2011 : 11:59:54 AM
Thanks, Nini...I've always been very patient, simply because I've always loved old Mrs. W. When I first moved to the neighborhood, she was a fixxy little gal, always dressed in stockings and hats for church and loved to play the guitar--she sang these old mountain songs, and civil war songs I've never heard before. I had her write down the words as she rememember them, simply because these songs that came from our ancestors in the hills, Scotch and Irish, English and Native American, are long gone and are part of our oral history. Sadly, she is so ill, I rarely see her--maybe once a year, now.
It's been such a challenge trying to simply not rip her Grandaughter's head off. Through all of these "men of the month, day, week, whatever" she brings around, one of which stole our ladder and the most recent stole our table by the creek (probably while he was dumping all that trash) to scrap, along with the pipe the neighbors saw him remove from a vacant house up the street. I've not seen him in a few weeks since the police came by to talk with them while they were working on the car at midnight....I'm sure he's lying low some where.
She apparently suffers from schizophrenia and has turetts, but I'm sure most of it is because she's been on heavy drugs since she was a teen. Her son emancipated himself when he was 15, if that tells you anything...
I guess I'll just see what my husband says about the code enf. matter. If they don't clean it up, I'll keep calling.
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| Ninibini |
Posted - Mar 23 2011 : 10:10:47 AM
Neighbors - what a thing!
I feel bad for your elderly neighbor, Jonni...the poor thing...but you know you're doing her a favor. Can you just imagine what that girl is doing to the INSIDE of her house? Not to mention that she's probably stripping away her grandma's possessions little by little in order to pay for her addiction. And oh my - God no, I hope she doesn't inherit that house when her grandma passes. What an even worse nightmare that would become for you!
My son, DH and I watched a documentary on crystal meth over the weekend. If you get any sense at all that there is anything resembling production over there, please be sure to call the police. Also, if she's on meth, she is not NOT NOT in her right mind, so be careful. That poor girl is possessed by that drug and I don't think she honestly knows what she is doing. What a horror that stuff is! I pray she isn't harming her grandma. I can't help thinking the police might actually become your best friends as well as Mrs. W's where this girl is concerned.
Jonni - I'll be praying for you, my friend! And Mrs. W.... AND the granddaughter, because she really, really needs it!
Hugs -
Nini
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
Farmgirl Sister #1974 |
| Miss Bee Haven |
Posted - Mar 23 2011 : 10:06:54 AM
That sounds like a great idea!
Farmgirl Sister #50
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?"
'Br.Dave Gardner' |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Mar 23 2011 : 09:13:09 AM
One can only hope. Collectively, the neighbors and I have talked about getting funding and just levelling it to make a public garden.
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| Miss Bee Haven |
Posted - Mar 23 2011 : 08:44:52 AM
Maybe she'll sell the house for drug money.
Farmgirl Sister #50
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?"
'Br.Dave Gardner' |
| FebruaryViolet |
Posted - Mar 23 2011 : 08:38:00 AM
Thanks, Janice. I know...I do. And I did. It just really frosts me that she's so freakin' careless...I mean, it was ALL stuff that the garbage people would actually take!!!
My fence still looks awful--she was out there at 11 pm one night in October, trying to sink the cement and pole that she knocked down. I asked what she was doing and she said, "I hit this last year and I told your husband I was going to fix it..." when I looked out the next morning, she had tied it all up with yellow rope and left the big cement part above ground. Later, she said, "when it rains, it you just dig that out a little, you can sink that down in there, no problem..." I just went inside and growled.
I just know that when old lady W passes, she's going to get that house. All bets are off!!!!
Musings from our family in the Bluegrass http://sweetvioletmae.blogspot.com/ |
| Miss Bee Haven |
Posted - Mar 23 2011 : 08:30:59 AM
What do they think? That the garbage disappears when they throw it over the hill? And you do have to report them. Definitely. They will just keep on if somebody doesn't force them to clean up. Shame on them for not appreciating what a 'slice of country in the city' setting they get to reside in. It's such a cool place.
Farmgirl Sister #50
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?"
'Br.Dave Gardner' |
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