Camping in your own back yard just does not have the same fill as when your at the lake or way back in the woods at a State park. I am thankful we had the camper though, it made a great refuge from the sweltering heat from the no AC in the house. It took all the money and then some we had set aside for the Fredericksburg Green Living Roundup this weekend but I guess I could always go next year.
Now on to bigger things. I am being charged with a class A misdemeanor over a misunderstanding. I have to go before a Judge on Monday to be charged. Here's the story.
When we moved into this place I had a plumber come by and check out our Aerobic sewer system. He replaced the burnt out pump and then told me the system was not properly installed. I called the installer to come out and take a look and found that it was actually installed right. The plumber did not believe me and called to complain to the state. The state called the county and the county man came out to find everything was fine. While he was here the neighbors septic system to the South of me turned on and the smell was horrific. The county man ended up writing them up and that was that. About a week later I received a letter in the mail that I was not compliant and had 30 days to get that way or else. I called the county man and he said it was a big mistake and he would take care of it. Three weeks later another letter came in the mail with a summons to court with these charges pending and if I did not show a warrant would be issued for my arrest. Dowg Gone man!
So calling the county man again and him giving the same story of not to worry about it. A day later he called me back and said with all this added attention to me, he decided to pull my file and found I did not have a maintenance contract with a licensed plumber and the charges would stand.
So this weekend I have to go to a training class to get certified to handle my own poo because I refuse to pay a plumber $200 to show up twice a year. So this little misunderstanding will cost me a day of work and another $150.00 and that's if the courts do not fine me for something else.
I tell you what, it's a dag gum racket if you ask me.
Monday this all should be cleared up, I hope.
I just want to be left alone. I am having more problems way out here in the country than I ever did while living in the city.
Dang dude, when it rains....
ReplyDeleteIt took me an extra two months of looking at homes to find a newer one with a conventional septic system. I thought I would save a little cash not having to pay city sewer and the water and trash cost more now. :-/
Hope you get everything cleared up, I am not much on following blogs highlighting inmate laundry chores. ;-)
Glad you got the a/c fixed, Redneck, and glad you had the camper to hole up in until that was accomplished.
ReplyDeleteDon't know how big your county is or what the judge is like ...it'll just be a Justice of the Peace or Magistrate and you're a voter, so maybe he's a nice guy. My number one argument would be why were you not told by the county guy when he was out there that you had to be licensed or have a contract with a licensed septic company? Back that up with two separate phone calls in response to the two separate letters and you being told not to worry about it. If you were negligent in not realizing you were out of compliance, the county man was WAY negligent for not informing you on at least one of those three separate occasions!
Our house was built in 1985 by a do-it- yourselfer so I doubt ours is compliant either. The septic is the old fashioned gravel pit system (versus field or aerobic) but we've never had any problems with it. I wish he had installed a field simply because it would 'water' more area. But I detest the aerobic systems. Too many moving parts make for too much potential for maintenance/repair nightmares. Plus 'clean' or not, I would REALLY not like to get surprised by getting sprinkled! LOL
Let us know how the hearing goes.
Redneck, don't you just love bureaucracy?! I admit to being ignorant of the whole human waste treatment system; in fact, I took an environmental science class and posed the question, "If a bear can shit in the woods without causing problems, why can't we?" I was never satisfied with the answer that humans carry parasites and diseases. While I know this to be true, I couldn't help thinking that so do animals and yet we use their waste on our gardens all the time. So I am still ignorant on the subject:) I don't even know the difference between the various systems. But I do know that the government, in the name of safety, loves to regulate us. After all, they have done such a fantastic job of regulating our food safety that it's barely edible anymore so why shouldn't they make money off of regulating the waste products! If there is nothing wrong with your system why do you need to pay to take a class to prove you know what you are doing? The fact that your system works and meets all the other criteria should be enough, I would think. You are right, "It's a dag gum racket"!
ReplyDeleteRedneck,
ReplyDeleteDang it man, you've had a bad month! Hang in there and keep your chin up.
I agree it sounds like a "Dag gum racket" to me as well. It's the same ole problem our country is in, the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Praying the judge is willing to hear your side of it and maybe just maybe we can hope that someone on the other end might get a butt chewing, but I won't hold my breath on that one.
We had to buy a building permit to re-roof our old house, it cost something like $85. The instructions I got was that when they had half torn off and were beginning to roof we needed to call for an inspector to come out. So while the menfolk hauled a load of old roofing to the city dump, I called the inspector. He showed up and wanted to know where the workers were, I explained that they'd hauled a load to the dump. He then told me he had to "see" them working. I told him he was welcome to climb up the ladder and see the felt met code ad that they were attaching the shingles(T-Lock) correctly. He said no he'd come back later. Well he never did and the menfolk went ahead and finished the roof. We called for the final inspection, same inspector shows up, never even got up on he roof( Dh even had a ladder in place), simply stood out in the middle of the road and said," Yep, looks great!" signed off on the permit and left. This ticked me off so bad, I called and complained, this is what you charged us $85 for, they sent another inspector out and he did get up on the roof and said the menfolk had done a very professional job. He also shared on the QT that the other inspector was already in trouble for similar complaints and was most likely going to loose his job. Not that I want to see anyone loose a job, but if they aren't doing what they are suppossed to do then that needs to happen.
Blessing and hang in there,
Kelle