Couple says apartment complex is making them sick
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Couple says apartment complex is making them sick...
It's at the Salem Ridge Apartments, which flooded back in 2004. Now 24 apartments are condemned.A local couple wants to know what’s being done about what they think is a health hazard at their apartment complex. Salem Ridge Apartments, formerly known as Willow River, flooded in 2004. Now one of the condemned units from the flood has one couple worried.
Matthew Snider and Carla Kennington-Lee sit in their third-floor apartment. Carla starts coughing and currently suffers from asthma. It’s something she said she’s had since she was 15, but it’s “never been this bad before.”
They think it’s because of a leak in the condemned apartment two floors below them. When Matthew went down to check it out, he “noticed extremely large puddle of water, debris smelled disgusting like mold and mildew.” The next day, Matthew said he had to take Carla to the emergency room for asthma.
The City of Salem and building inspectors have not confirmed the mold but did say there was condensation and sewage back-up in Building 1750 at Salem Ridge. That’s the same building where Matthew and Carla live.
Salem building inspectors say nobody is allowed to live in those bottom apartments that are condemned.
Charles Aldridge, Salem’s Building Official and Zoning Administrator, said 24 units have been condemned from the flooding back in 2004. If anything happens, like flooding or any other leaks, somebody may not know about it for a couple of days.
Ten On Your Side tried to get answers from management at the complex but told us we had to leave the property. So we went to the City of Salem. Matthew and Carla want to know why the apartments are considered safe to live in.
“A lot of times people have their own opinions about what’s uninhabitable, but the law doesn’t dictate it that way,” said Melinda Payne.
Payne said the health department would have to prove it’s a true health hazard. Trying to prove the apartments are not safe to live in would require going to court. But, Payne says the leaks and sewage have not reached any true level of health concerns.
Payne also said the next step is a follow-up visit to the rooms with leaks and sewage. If it is not cleaned up, the inspectors can go to the health department; however, Payne said the apartment officials have been notified.
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Please disregard the mattandcarla@gmail.com the correct one is ContactMattAndCarla@gmail.com.
If you are a past or current resident with the apartment complex Salem Ridge Apartments once known as Willow River Apartments and currently have or had during your tenancy or post-tenancy please contact us immediately at MattAndCarla@gmail.com Be sure to read the news story coming up soon in The Roanoke Times written by Pete Dybdahl. Carla, her two children, and myself have had medical issues since living in Salem Ridge apartments of Sinusitis, Upper Respiratory Infections, Dermatitis(Skin Problems), Chronic Headaches, Acute Exasperation, Asthma, Gastro-Intestinal Problems, Fever, Coughing up Blood, Nausea, Keratitis(Vision problems and damage to the Cornea), Edema, Bronchiospasms, Rhinitis, nose bleeds, cough, cold and flu-like symptoms, general malaise, severe allergic reactions, nail fungus, skin lesions, eye infections, pink eye, vomiting, diarrhea, internal bleeding, reproductive organ problems ear infections, pneumonia, endocarditis, peritonitis, urinary tract infections, sore throats, fatigue, immune suppression(impaired immune system), and other problems you may be be related to the living conditions at Salem Ridge Apartments do not hesitate to contact us or your local health care facility immediately Chronic exposure to certain types of molds may lead to pulmonary emphysema as well as kidney and liver damage and many other possible lifetime health problems. I urge every single person that are suffering or have suffered from these issues to look into possible mycotoxin exposure immediately and educate themselves on how mold affects the human body and surroundings.
We are currently seeking somewhere else to live. Feel free to contact us at ContactMattAndCarla@gmail.com if you would like to get intouch with one of us about anything. I greatly appreciate the concern and you have no idea how wonderful it makes me feel knowing that something is finally getting done about all this. The thought of all those children being sick and people just trying to make a life for themselves keeps me going on this. I will not give up and I will never give in. We may not live there very much longer but this is far from over. When people choose a place to live and pay their rent they are trusting them with their lives and the lives of their family members. Don’t ever be scared to speak up! Always voice your opinion no matter what! When you talk loud enough… people will be forced to listen. Thank you all so very much, you really have no idea how much all this means to us.
i finally have moved out of that grotesque apartment complex after a year of both myself and my 8 yr old daughter being sick. Anything from allergy symptoms to strep throat to unexplained stomache viruses and severe headaches. My daughter missed 20 days of school last year, but amazingly has not had so much as a cough since we moved over a month ago. The apartment below me was empty the whole time we lived there, and during the winter months, despite my calls to maintenance and mgmt,there was never a door placed on the balcony downstairs causing my electric bills to be outrageous..almost 200.00 per month for just myself and my daughter(hardly ever home due to my 50-60 hr work weeks)mildew is a common smell no matter which apartment(i have been in others) and 11 out of the 12 months that i lived there i complained about water pouring out of both my bathroom vents, enough water to cover the bathroom floor. i dont understand why the whole apartment complex has not been condemned yet? It is not sanitary there, and while i was living there we received notices about open needles being in the dumpster. Although it is very costly to move, there was no other choice when it comes to the safety and wellbeing of my daughter, and the conditions at the complex not getting better, or having any plans to make it better.
So, what’s to be done? Is there a lawyer out there who will help these people set up an escrow account to hold their rent money until the repairs are made? Is there a doctor who will examine these people and contact the health department or CDC on their behalf? Is there a lab in the area who will collect samples and test them for biohazards? Who in the valley has the skills and the heart to help these folks?
It’s about time that someone investigated this disgusting area. I have been teacher/volunteer/ friend to a precious family who have suffered greatly under unimaginably unsanitary conditions at the infamous Salem Ridge, formally Willow Creek Ghetto. You may wish to discuss with management there, people, such as my dear friends, who have complained,over and over again about: a hot water leak in their kitchen, causing these residents to pay for heating that wasted water ; mold in their bathroom due to constant leaks which required them, after running out of towels, to use their own clothes to sop up the vial mess; the cracked ceiling in said bathroom which drips onto their floor; polluted water which seeps under their door during heavy rain, infiltrating their apartment with stench which does not go away, no matter how hard these very proud people scrub. You may also wish to inquire about those who, after many unanswered complaints, became weary of paying $650.00 per month to live in squalor and simply left, leaving their belongings behind. Perhaps,you may be interested in knowing that, when notified of a couple who had chosen to vacate,leaving their 3 starving cats behind for a week, management did nothing and showed no concern. My friends just barely survived the flood of which you spoke, having to be rescued by boat, (you may have this on film), yet life in this dump, is living proof of that the devil lurks in all corners, thrilled to take advantage of the less fortunate. One doesn’t need to visit the 3rd World to find a need for crying, just drive through Salem Ridge Apartments…. be sure to take your Kleenex.
Im so glad to see someone else besides me having the same problems here. I moved in on May 5th and have seen some nasty stuff around here and it’s not pleaseing to live here. Im a single mother of three childern and I also have one with asthma and i do beleive the same thing I also have a apt below me that was full of mold but they have been working on it but not sure how much they have done to it. But it’s not just these apt. that are not rentable that have problems it’s also the ones that people live in here it all go’s back to managment here I have lived here since May 5th and My ac unit has been linking since then my carpet has been wet ever since so bad I have to put towels down my hallway my closet is so nasty and full of water, I have reported it 12 times and nothing get’s done around here. I have many more problems that havent been fix but what do you do I have no money to move no where else to go. You just try to fix things the best way you can. What’s so confussing is they make sure you pay your rent but dont want to help you out and for what I pay a month here there is no since in it i pay out alot of money and it’s so not worth it!!!!! I have reported it to the corp. office and still nothing gets done maybe having you guys out something will change thank you and wish us good luck!!!!
These pictures are only the beginning, to see more contact me through here or WSLS to hear more and see mroe pictures of what isn’t considered a health issue and about what’s going on besides just being sick and how the local government is not doing anything to correct it.
My name is Mike and i currently live in the apt.complex as described above. My wife Continually gets head-aches and we have tended to think that its nothing more than bad vision or something. But she only gets them while she is here and not somewhere else. There are bad smells coming from the apartments that are condemed below us and now that i know were not the only one’s haveing issues i’ll be looking into this a bit more.
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