Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 27, 1994 TAG: 9402270058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KAREN BARNES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HENDRICK'S STORE LENGTH: Long
She carries the pail behind her ramshackle white house, hikes into the woods and dumps it, the same way she's done since she moved into the house 11 years ago.
There's a wooden outhouse about a hundred yards away, but it's falling down and grown over with weeds. She won't use it, because she's afraid of snakes and said it's too far away.
"We just use an ordinary bucket and keep it as clean as we can," she said, sitting on a blanket-covered couch in her living room. "That's one thing I worry about and want - a septic tank."
She has a spigot in her sinkless kitchen, but the pipes froze during the recent ice storm, and the water was off for days. There's a bathtub in what should be the bathroom, but it's filled with plastic baskets of clothes.
"I'd appreciate anything they do," she said, "but the first thing I want is a bathroom."
Burgess and other residents of the area near Moneta that locals call "Chigger Ridge" or "The Ridge" soon may have indoor plumbing, floors that don't sag and roofs that don't leak if Bedford County is awarded a Community Development Block Grant.
The community, on and around Virginia 655 south of Moneta, is one of mobile homes, dirt roads rendered impassable by wet weather and houses held together with tar paper and spare lumber.
Many of the residents rent their houses for as little as $30 a month. Several of the mobile homes sit on property owned by someone else.
A traditionally poor, black neighborhood, many of its residents are on public assistance.
Odell Martin and his family of six heat their two-bedroom house with wood donated by a fuel assistance program. They buy food with $268 in food stamps each month, their other necessities with $370 in welfare.
The ceiling above the wood stove is charred and patched with cardboard placed there to absorb leaks. The wall behind the stove is blackened, too.
A decrepit two-seater outhouse pitched at a sharp angle has a roof with a view of the sky.
Martin's and Burgess' are among the estimated 500 households without adequate plumbing in Bedford County, according to 1990 census data.
More than 600 homes don't have public sewer or a septic tank. Slightly more than 1,250 draw water from sources other than a public utility or a well.
Confronted with these problems, Sue Gilbert, Bedford County's administrative analyst, tapped an engineer to help her document conditions along The Ridge.
Barry Woodford, of Woodford Engineering, visited 30 mobile homes and 18 houses in the neighborhood, determining how much repair work was needed, or whether dwellings should be demolished.
Several well-attended public meetings were held to assess what residents want and need. An initial proposal to provide public water and sewer was turned down by residents, who explained they can't afford another bill.
So the county will concentrate on repairing and replacing homes. Woodford concluded 18 mobile homes could be repaired, while five others need substantial reconstruction. Houses fared about as well. A dozen could be saved, but one other requires extensive work. Three may be razed and replaced with new houses.
One of those slated for the wrecking ball is Martin's house. But Martin rents the house - for $50 a month - which means the county would have to get permission from his landlord before tearing it down.
"This is going to be a tough rehab house to work with," Woodford said, poking his finger into cracks in the ceiling. "There's nothing really here to work with. It was built with whatever was in the neighborhood."
So Woodford suggested adding two or three bedrooms to the cramped house to accommodate the family. In one small bedroom, two double beds are squeezed in, surrounded by stacks of clothes. Martin's children sleep in the crowded space.
Armed with examples such as the Martins and Burgess, Woodford and Gilbert are submitting an application for a Community Development Block Grant totaling almost $800,000.
The Martins and almost 100 other Ridge dwellers could get safe electrical wiring, reinforced foundations and working appliances funded by the grant.
This is the first time the county has sought funds to improve a cluster of substandard housing. The money originates from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, which channels funds to states. The state's Housing and Community Development Department will review Bedford County's application in March.
A state official said the competition for $25.1 million in block grant funds this year probably will be tough. Last year, the department received 85 grant applications and funded only 37, said Barry Brown, a program manager with the block grant technical assistance office.
Bedford officials can expect an answer as early as mid-May, he said.
Burgess is keeping her fingers crossed. "At my age, I'd like to enjoy [a bathroom] a bit," she said. "It'll improve my life, my health and maybe my disposition."
by CNB