Mold Infestation is Health Hazard

Mold is a fact of life if one lives in an old home, and for many it is nothing more than a nuisance. But in the Gustafson home in Sacred Heart, the Aspergillus mold spores are a real danger to Zachary and Ella, both who were diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) in 2008.
When Zach was hospitalized at the end of the summer his doctor discovered the six-year old had allergic broncho-pulmonary aspergillosis, meaning he was allergic to the mold in the home.
“Anything that irritates his lungs,” can be harmful, explained mother Sue.
To help battle the effects of the mold the doctors have Zach on steroids. And while they might help keep the allergy in check, the side-effects aren’t fun.
“Our six year old acts like an 80-year-old,” Sue said. Climbing the stairs at the home can be a chore, with Zach’s stiff joints. His appetite can rival his dad’s at times and he and the family have to deal with the kindergartner’s mood swings caused by the medication.
The steroids Zach is on is helping, but the mold in the home needs to be completely removed. Servicemaster came out and located the mold in several areas of the house, especially in the basement and a room upstairs that at one point had been a bathroom.
Servicemaster cleaned out the basement and the Gustafsons have begun the process of repairing the upstairs room, removing an old window and replacing the wall material, where the mold had been growing.
While the basement was scrubbed clean a watermain issue which caused water to seep back into the basement revealed pipes that needed to be replaced, adding another layer to the mold problem. To hopefully correct the problem the Gustafson are planning to dig a new basement and move the house on top of it.
“The dream is to get a new house,” said Sue, but the family has not been successful getting financing.
Sue did put in an application for ABC’s popular show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” but she isn’t waiting around for Ty Pennington to come knocking on their door. Things need to be done to the home they have, so everyone can be as healthy as possible.
Since Zach and Ella were diagnosed with CF the communities of Sacred Heart, Granite Falls and the RCW school district have stepped up.
“Their support has blown us away,” said Sue.
The Tim Orth Foundation chose the Gustafsons as one of their families in 2008, the Sacred Heart Lions club put on a benefit, as did the family’s church. And on Dec. 3 another benefit for the family will be held at the Sacred Heart Community Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., to raise money to help the family solve the mold problem. The event will include a BBQ lunch, silent auction and craft and bake sale. The event is being sponsored with supplemental funds from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans – Renville/ Redwood County Chapter. Those interested can send monetary donations to the Gustafson Fund set up at F&M Bank in Sacred Heart.
“We are much better givers than receivers,” Sue said, but eventually the family learned to let their friends and family help them. “If the community wants to love us, we should let them.”
When the CF illness entered the family many relatives wanted Sue and James to move the family closer to the cities, especially with all of the trips to Children’s Medical Center. But the couple decided against relocating.
“We are right where we need to be,” said Sue.
“We like Sacred Heart,” James added. “We want to stay here.”
The couple wants their children, including Hayley, 10 and Ayden, 8, to experience the closeness of living in a small community and to understand what it means to reach out and help people in need.
“It is so good for our kids to see that. We are some of the richest people,” in friends and family, explained Sue. “We are appreciative and totally humbled.”

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Food Court Closes After Flood

The food court at the Valley Plaza Mall is still closed for business after a water main break flooded the area.

Workers at the Valley Plaza Mall pulled an all-nighter to repair a broken water main.

The pipe busted after construction crews hit it before the mall opened Thursday morning.

The break flooded the food court and things got worse a little later when crews were repairing the line.

That's when they found a second leak.

Both leaks were fixed but the Health Department now has to test a water sample.

That process takes 24-hours so the food court won't be opened until Saturday morning if they get cleared.

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Flood Free City Hall Awaits Plan

Almost a year ago, a broken sprinkler pipe flooded Tacoma’s Old City Hall and washed away the building’s few remaining tenants.

Two of them have set up new storefronts, but it wasn’t easy. Meanwhile, the historic building and city icon sits empty.

It’s been cleaned of most of its water-damaged debris, and it has adequate heat and fire-suppression systems. But Old City Hall isn’t out of the woods. Since early this year, the owner has been working with the City of Tacoma to resolve a derelict building complaint spawned by the day-before-Thanksgiving flood.

Many of the key items have been resolved, but Seattle-based The Stratford Co. faces a Dec. 31 deadline on other items such as repairs of doors, floors, walls and ceilings.

“At this point, the building has been stabilized. It’s weather-protected at a minimum,” city code inspection supervisor Dan McConaughy said Tuesday. But by the end of the year, McConaughy said Stratford must have a plan to complete the work at 625 Commerce St.

Stratford founder and president George Webb said Monday that re-doing the interior doesn’t make sense until it’s clear who will be using the space.

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Courthouse Flood Costs $500,000 in Damage

Flooding from a broken pipe in a Pasadena Courthouse bathroom has caused an estimated $500,000 damage.

Courthouse operations are continuing normally on Monday.

Fire spokeswoman Lisa Derderian says 30 firefighters were dispatched to the six-story courthouse at 5:40 a.m. Monday when a fire alarm was activated by the flood waters.

It's not clear when the pipe ruptured but Derderian says the water may have been accumulating all weekend.

A second-floor bathroom sink pipe broke and flooded two floors. A first floor office and computers are damaged.

Damage is estimated at $250,000 to the building and $250,000 to the contents.

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Apartment Complex Fire Causes Major Damage

A fire gutted an apartment building in Graham on Thursday night just as nearby residents were winding down their Thanksgiving holiday.

The Graham Fire Department responded about 7 p.m. to 517 W. Market St.for a reported apartment fire near the intersection of Market and Elm streets. The apartment complex is operated by Quality Property Management of North Carolina, which is based in Burlington. The complex contains several two-story multi-unit buildings.

Dozens of firefighters responded to the call. Alamance County Rescue, Alamance County Emergency Services and Graham Police also responded to the scene.

By 8:15 p.m., the fire was under control but smoke continued to billow from the building. Firefighters worked their way inside the smoldering building to extinguish any hot spots that remained through the night.

Alamance County Fire Marshal David Leonard said every unit in the single apartment building sustained major fire damage. The units also sustained water and smoke damage as well.

“Things are very sketchy right now,” Leonard said. “We had a lot of fire with major damage.”

Leonard said the fire’s origin and cause was still undetermined Thursday night. There were no injuries sustained in the fire, Leonard said.

There was one man inside the apartment building living in a downstairs unit when the fire started, according to Leonard. He was questioned extensively by Graham police as the fire raged. Leonard also conducted an interview with the man after the fire was under control.

“They haven’t located anybody inside,” Leonard said. “We don’t think anybody was at home. That’s fortunate.”

Alamance County EMS Director Chuck Mancillas said his team was dispatched to the scene at 7:05 p.m. Mancillas said they first believed there was a victim inside the burning building which later proved to be false.

Several residents of the complex including Delores Enoch and Lakeina Chandler watched outside near West Market Street as firefighters battled the blaze. Their apartment building was not damaged by the fire.

Enoch and Chandler said they could first smell smoke from inside their apartment units and decided to go outside and see what was happening. Their apartment building also operated by Quality Property Management of North Carolina is adjacent to the one that caught fire. Several nearby residents said they were first alerted by the fire from a knock on their door.

“We were still relaxing for Thanksgiving when all this started,” Chandler said.

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11/25/11 Lindenhurst Weather Forecast

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 44. West wind between 6 and 11 mph.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 64. West wind between 6 and 9 mph.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 44. Southwest wind between 3 and 5 mph.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 60. South wind between 7 and 14 mph.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48. Southwest wind between 7 and 10 mph.

Monday: A chance of showers, mainly before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 57. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49.

Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 57.

Tuesday Night: Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 43. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Wednesday: Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 47. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 36.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 46.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 37.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 48.

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Officials Mull Over Court Flooding

Officials will have to drill deeper to find out why the basement of the Muskogee County Courthouse floods after heavy rain.

Commissioners have been dealing with the problem since a major renovation in the late 1990s.

The county spent nearly $50,000 in 2008 to drill well points outside the courthouse and installed pumps to drain excess water. That process was repeated a second time, officials said.

District 1 Commissioner Gene Wallace said a number of other things have been done to correct the problem. Those efforts include “caulking and re-caulking every pipe and entry point into the courthouse.”

Although those efforts have worked to some extent, Wallace said, a permanent fix has yet to be found.

“Every time we think we have made some headway, it rains again and the courthouse floods,” Wallace said, noting that the latest incident occurred about a week ago after heavy rain blanketed the area. “We’re convinced that we need someone who has more knowledge about this than we do.”

The flooding has damaged carpeted areas, tile floors and wallboard on interior walls. Wallace said commissioners want to prevent mold from growing and spreading in affected areas. Another concern is money.

“I don’t want to be throwing good money after bad,” District 3 Commissioner Dexter Payne said. “We’ve been doing that for five years.”

Muskogee County Emergency Management Director Jeff Smith, whose office is in the basement, said the degree of flooding depends on “how much it rains and how fast it falls.”

“It seems to flood only when we get several inches of rain in a short period of time,” Smith said. “It just seems to come up between the outer walls and basement floor.”

Smith said the water typically subsides quickly. Even so, Wallace said “a solution must be found” to avoid structural deterioration that might be occurring.

“We’ve tried all the obvious fixes,” Wallace said. “Now we are going to have to look for problems that might not be so obvious.”

Ideas discussed Monday include possible consultations with a hydrologist to determine the source of the water and its path into the basement.

Wallace said some suspect rainwater that drains from the parking garage adjacent to the courthouse. But without further studies, there is no way to confirm that.

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