This has really been a day of serious deliberation.
I phoned my 37 yr old daughter after she left the school where she works and we discussed the options left for me.
When local law enforcement & the DA's office refused to investigate Robert Huckins for the theft of our building fund I had no idea how this was going to play out.
When the Governor of the State of New Mexico brought in white collar crime investigators, and criminal proceedings started, I tried to:
1) Acquire a derelict building to renovate, through Craigslist and development companies.
2) Acquire the Rafter 11 house.
3) Acquire the old hospital MRI building.
4) Acquire a FEMA trailer through Senator Adair.
5) Beg for volunteers to close in the barn so I could build a home working from the inside out, through Senator Adair and the Ruidoso News newspaper.
6) Contacted Habitat for Humanity, ALL church groups within the area and outside the area seeking help, through numerous people including Suzie Stockton and Gari of the District Attorney's office.
7) Obtain a modular on payments.
8) Sell the land with Assist-To-Sell.
9) Buy the shell of a trailer to renovate, through John Boyd.
The Ruidoso News newspaper issued at least four or five articles asking for help. I couldn't have had people try as hard, and for the length of time, the Ruidoso News newspaper have done though Gari and Suzie spent months trying. And I am confident that they would say the same about me.
Now I can't go backwards or forwards with the trailer I finally settled for, believing that I could renovate OUR OWN PROPERTY which is sat ON OUR OWN LAND, and turn it into a gorgeous mountain cabin, or tack room with living quarters, if nothing else.
You dare not open your mouth to these folks because the very second you say, "stucco" or "double pane windows," "new doors" or "tack room" it brings heart palpitations and panic attacks by government employees who have a home to go to.
It's already cost me $9,000 to get this far, and can't retrieve those funds. I may as well just sit and burn $100 bills instead of sweating it out trying to get into a warm home before it gets colder because the State of New Mexico has blocked all paths for me to continue the renovations.
The only path I can see available is putting a large tarpaulin over the trailer and moving into it as it now sits. If I can't "fix" the structural problems I just don't know what else to do but heed the warnings of the state and "not" fix them.
I'm so frustrated I am spitting nails.
My boss is having a wall eyed fit demanding that I contact Senator Adair.
My daughter frantically told me that I can't just move into a trailer that is mid-construction, without electricity or water, but I don't have the answer. I feel like I have done anything and everything possible and no matter which direction I turn the State of New Mexico has put up insurmountable road blocks.
I am defeated. Thoroughly defeated.
Tomorrow I need to start emptying the antique furniture that has been stored for 3+ years in a less than waterproof 4 horse trailer, and get it into the single wide where I can see what damage has been done, and repair it. And I need to start sinking gateposts.
I phoned Print to see if he could bring his bobcat and try to undo the mess inside the barn before the footings are eroded away, but his bobcat is in Roswell being repaired.
The engineering report speaks volumes. Of the structure it says:
On October 5, 2010, I inspected the unfinished remodeling work in progress on the 66’x14’ Mobile home at the above premises. Several sections of water damaged particle board flooring have been replaced with ¾” thick plywood, about 16 feet of damaged exterior wall has been replaced with 2”x4” stud framing, a 3’ wide replacement door has been installed with a header of two 2”x4” boards, and two 4’x4’ windows have been installed with headers of two 2”x6” boards. No interior walls have been removed. There are a few more sections of damaged flooring and exterior wall framing that will be replaced. A scabbed 2”x4” has been added under the new windows at the rim joist. This must be removed and a new 2”x6” board that has been ripped to 4-1/4” which is the same dimension as the rim joist. The approximate length needed to span is 16 feet. The new scab may be placed in sections but must span the metal stringers and contact them in order to give full support to the new framing. With this modification, the new framing is acceptable and will meet the 2006 IBC for construction of a one story residence. The remaining windows, door and damaged sections may be replaced using the same framing as done so far and with the same addition of a ripped scab along the rim joist under the repaired sections.
For this I could be fined $1,000? Sounds like a criminal offense to me.
I have no energy to fight with anymore.
I'm changing my facility name to "Tired Out" - moving into a house that doesn't even have a back door or hallway floors but I GUARANTEE that I won't fix anything and the State of New Mexico can sod off.
Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion . . . . I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. - Kirt Vonnegut Jr.
