726 Waterfall Way

Yes we all feel deeply bad for this family that suffered a fire last week. This was a rental unfortunately the owner has no homeowners insurance to rebuild and likewise the tenants had no renters insurance to replace their valuables that were lost.

Today 10/23 they have been there cleaning up and salvaging what they can and dumping what they can't salvage on the ground around the dumpsters. This is clearly marked that they cannot do this. When asked nicely by another homeowner to remove the garbage they dumped on the ground including a mattress and chair they became irate, they claim they have permission from the HOA to do this. We checked and were told they called Kuester and asked for permission to leave their unneeded furniture outside the dumpster and were told no. A few miles down the road is a County drop off site where they could easily take all this unwanted stuff and drop it off with no problem.

This case we fell is egregious they called for permission and were told no, they moved all these items during a weekday when the county site was open, they had vehicles large enough to carry these items to the county site, and than were asked to correct this, but instead of being good neighbors got ugly about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR_ndtcHbvw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m2RieO2JTs

And in case you missed it here is a link to the Lake Wylie Pilot article about the fire.

We know the fire was started by a female cooking on a grill to close to the house

After a search of York County Court Records reveals the female living at 726 Waterfall Way Christie Filomena Johnson has several pending criminal charges against her all filed earlier this month including LITTERING, Driving with a suspended license, her license is suspended due to a DUI,  and she also has a pending charge of Criminal Domestic Violence. 

In the last 3 years she has been charged with 3 separate DUI's a Disorderly Conduct, and habitual traffic offender. 

This leads to some interesting questions 1) Was alcohol abuse possibly a contributing factor to the fire. and 2) Was Ms. Johnson even legally allowed to be at the residence of the time of the fire. Normally when you are arrested for Criminal Domestic Violence upon arrest the court issues a restraining order to ban you from returning to your residence with the victim in the case, and from being around the victim or having contact with them in any way. Was Ms. Johnson violating this court order at the time of the fire? 

Dumpster Area

1) Last week a couch was dumped along with a dresser draws, both were infested with bed bugs, they were left in front of one of the dumpsters, which meant Waste Management could not empty the dumpster.

2) A witness came forward this morning and reported the homeowner at 2066 Shady Pond Dr was the culprit. 

3) Another homeowner notified the Sheriffs Department about people leaving trash outside of the dumpsters, they would increase patrols of the neighborhood, and ticket anyone leaving trash on the ground.  

For those that do not know the dumpster is for PHASE 1 homeowners only PHASE 2 homeowners are not allowed to use the dumpster as the HOA pays for private trash pickup for PHASE 2 residents.

Here is the law in SC, which includes leaving garbage on the ground outside of a dumpster, and even includes blocking the dumpster from being accessed just like the couch.

But the highlights are:

leaving trash on the ground of less than 15 pounds is a misdemeanor punishable by a $200 fine plus court costs, 5 hours minimum of litter gathering labor, and up to 30 days in jail.

leaving a couch or any other garbage totaling more than 15 pounds is punishable of up to a 90 days in jail. 

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                                                 SC Littering Laws

SECTION 16-11-700. Dumping litter on private or public property prohibited; exceptions; responsibility for removal; penalties.

(A) No person may dump, throw, drop, deposit, discard, or otherwise dispose of litter or other solid waste as defined by Section 44-96-40(46) upon any public or private property or waters in the State whether from a vehicle or otherwise, including, but not limited to, a public highway, public park, beach, campground, forest land, recreational area, trailer park, highway, road, street, or alley except:

(1) when the property is designated by the State for the disposal of litter and other solid waste and the person is authorized to use the property for that purpose;

(2) into a litter receptacle in a manner that the litter is prevented from being carried away or deposited by the elements upon a part of the private or public property or waters.

(B) Responsibility for the removal of litter from property or receptacles is upon the person convicted under this section of littering the property or receptacles. However, if there is no conviction, the responsibility is upon the owner of the property or upon the owner of the property where the receptacle is located.

(C)(1) A person who violates the provisions of this section in an amount less than fifteen pounds in weight or twenty-seven cubic feet in volume is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than three hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than thirty days for each offense. In addition to a fine and for each offense under the provisions of this item, the court shall also impose a minimum of five hours of litter-gathering labor or other form of public service as the court may order because of physical or other incapacities, and which is under the supervision of the court. One hundred dollars of the fine imposed by this item must be deposited in the state's general fund and used by the Office of the Governor to fund a litter control campaign.

(2) The fine for a deposit of a collection of litter or garbage in an area or facility not intended for public deposit of litter or garbage is one thousand dollars. The provisions of this item apply to a deposit of litter or garbage, as defined in Section 44-67-30(4), in an area or facility not intended for public deposit of litter or garbage, but this does not prohibit a private property owner from depositing litter or garbage as a property enhancement if the depositing does not violate applicable local or state health and safety regulations. In addition to a fine and for each offense under the provisions of this item the court shall also impose a minimum of five hours of litter-gathering labor or other form of public service as the court may order because of physical or other incapacities, and which is under the supervision of the court. Eight hundred dollars of the fine imposed by this item must be deposited in the states general fund and used by the Office of the Governor to fund a litter control campaign.

(3) The court, in lieu of payment of the monetary fine imposed for a violation of this section, may direct the substitution of additional litter-gathering labor or other form of public service as it may order because of physical or other incapacities, under the supervision of the court, not to exceed one hour for each five dollars of fine imposed.

(4) For a second and subsequent convictions under the provisions of items (1) or (2) of this subsection, a minimum of twenty hours of community service must be imposed in addition to a fine.

(5) In addition to any other punishment authorized by this section, in the discretion of the court in which conviction is obtained, the person may be directed by the judge to pick up and remove from any public place or any private property, with prior permission of the legal owner upon which it is established by competent evidence that the person has deposited litter, all litter deposited on the place or property by anyone before the date of execution of sentence.

(6) Magistrates and municipal courts have jurisdiction to try violations of subsections (A), (B), (C), and (D) of this section.

(D) Any person who violates the provisions of this section in an amount exceeding fifteen pounds in weight or twenty-seven cubic feet in volume, but not exceeding five hundred pounds or one hundred cubic feet, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than ninety days. In addition, the court shall require the violator to pick up litter or perform other community service commensurate with the offense committed.

(E)(1) Any person who violates the provisions of this section in an amount exceeding five hundred pounds in weight or one hundred cubic feet in volume is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. In addition, the court may order the violator to:

(a) remove or render harmless the litter that he dumped in violation of this subsection;

(b) repair or restore property damaged by, or pay damages for damage arising out of, his dumping litter in violation of this subsection; or

(c) perform community public service relating to the removal of litter dumped in violation of this subsection or relating to the restoration of an area polluted by litter dumped in violation of this subsection.

(2) A court may enjoin a violation of this subsection.

(3) A motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, container, crane, winch, or machine involved in the disposal of more than five hundred pounds in weight or more than one hundred cubic feet in volume of litter in violation of this subsection is declared contraband and is subject to seizure and summary forfeiture to the State.

(4) If a person sustains damages arising out of a violation of this subsection that is punishable as a felony, a court, in a civil action for such damages, shall order the person to pay the injured party threefold the actual damages or two hundred dollars, whichever amount is greater. In addition, the court shall order the person to pay the injured party's court costs and attorney's fees.

(5) No part of a fine imposed pursuant to this section may be suspended.

(6) [Repealed]

(F) For purposes of the offenses established by this section, litter includes cigarettes and cigarette filters.

SECTION 16-11-710. Acceptance of cash bond in lieu of immediate court appearance in litter control prosecutions.

When any person is charged with a violation of 16-11-700 or any county ordinance relating to litter control, any officer authorized to enforce such law or ordinance may accept a cash bond in lieu of requiring an immediate court appearance. Such bond shall not exceed the maximum fine provided for a conviction of the offense charged and may be forfeited to the court by the enforcement officer if the person charged fails to appear in court.

SECTION 16-11-720. Dumping trash in or along shoreline of Lake Greenwood; penalties.

It shall be unlawful for any person to dump, leave or throw any rubbish, trash, garbage, cans, bottles, containers, paper, oil, grease or other similar substances or dead animals into the waters or along the shoreline of Lake Greenwood.

(2) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars or be imprisoned for not more than thirty days.

Dumpster

Here are some pictures of the dumpster area this morning December 1st, There is one large pile of garbage topped of with a couple of pizza boxes clearly marked as belonging to 745 Waterfall Way, apparently they had no problem just dropping their garbage on the ground and walking away. Kuester is supposed to fine anyone leaving garbage outside of the dumpsters a $100 fine.

If you have excess garbage or the dumpsters are full, you should either wait until they are emptied which is Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, or take your trash to the closest York County drop off site which is free to all residents. The two closest garbage collections centers are:

Bethel 3150 South Paraham Rd, south of Hwy 55 in Clover

Allison Creek

5725 Campbell Rd, at the intersection of Campbell Rd (County Rd 80) and SC 274

We realize with the Holidays the regular pick up schedule is going to be interrupted but again there are other options available. 

Phase One Plumbing

A homeowner had a pipe burst last night, luckily he was able to get a Plummer right away, the pipe coming out of the hot water heater had a pin hole leak in it, enough to cause a leak all the way to the first floor damaging insulation and sheetrock. Two years ago a section of pipe a foot from this section on the other side of an elbow joint split in half causing significant damage to the same home.

This time however the Plummer had informed the homeowner that all of the pipe in is home is defective, yes defective there has been several law suits including at least one class action suit and there may be another one, basically if you have the terracotta colored DURA PEX pipe and connectors in your phase one home you have the defective pipe.

After doing a lot of research on the internet it seems to be a lot of people in the Charlotte area that have the most problems with this pipe, it is susceptible to getting pin hole leaks, cracking in half, and the connectors are known to completely fail.

The experts say its not a matter of if it will fail but when, most failures seem, to happen on the hot water side coming out of the hot water heater first but can occur anywhere in the line. The only real fix is to completely replace all of the pipes in your entire home.

Many homeowners have had this problem in our community before some have had 3 or 4 leaks like this, but we are only now learning that the pipe is considered completely defective.

My first suggestion is get a plumber to replace the first several feet of the old pipe coming out of the hot water heater as this has been the most common first point of failure, this should be relatively inexpensive, and could save you from a big headache later on.

Here are some links discussing this issue further:

http://audetlaw.com/investigations/nibco-pex-products-breach-warranty-investigation/

http://terrylove.com/forums/index.php?threads/why-would-nibco-cpi-durapex-pex-split-lengthwise-and-leak.21075/

http://gotaclassaction.com/nibco-inc-named-in-class-action-lawsuit-over-cross-linked-polyethylene-plumbing-tubes/

http://www.nachi.org/forum/f54/dura-cross-linked-polyethylene-nibco-problems-38109/

Maintenance Items

FORWARDED FROM KUESTER REAL ESTATE:

Dear Owners,

Please find attached a few updates:

We will be cleaning gutters in just the 1st Phase Section this Saturday and Sunday. Owners do not need to be home for this service. The scope of work includes hand cleaning the insides of each gutter (front and back) and then hauling away the debris. If any 2nd phase owner is having a problem with water cascading over the top of their gutters during rain, please let us know, otherwise we will clean the gutters in both phases this Fall. 

Pine Needles will be distributed the week of June 9th, the coverage area will be all common areas, front tree ring, and front beds. Pine needles will not be placed on the sides. Please remove any breakables from the immediate work area. If you have a question or concern about this service please let us know.

More pool chairs are coming, we hope to have more loungers delivered by this weekend. We would like to thank everyone for their patience.

Wishing everyone a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Harpers Mill
-Board of Directors

Spring Time Reminders

This is just a reminder, now that spring is here were doing spring cleaning and going outdoors more, there has been an increase of people leaving garbage outside the dumpsters, it is a $100 fine if you leave garbage outside the dumpsters, if you have something to big to fit you are responsible to bring it to the York County Garbage Collection and Recycling drop off center which is free to all residents.

York County Solid Waste Management

Collection Center Locations

Also remember the dumpsters are for phase 1 home owners only.

Also there has been an increase of people with dogs off their leash and homeowners not picking up after their dogs.

Remember not picking up after your dog and a dog not being leashed is both a violation of HOA rules and York County Ordinances and both actions are subject to a $470.00 fine and or 30 days in jail.

We can all help each other and kindly remind new homeowners and tenants about these rules.

Bond is not right for the community’s future

This is from the Lake Wylie Pilot follow link here:

http://www.lakewyliepilot.com/2014/03/10/2328446/vote-no-to-a-bad-bond-plan.html

With the possible exception of community incorporation, this bond referendum may represent the most important community decision the residents of Lake Wylie will make in the next 20 to 30 years.

On March 22, we will be asked to approve or reject a $67 million bond referendum to make up a major portion of a $99 million school capital plan.

I encourage you to vote no.

The school board and Superintendent Marc Sosne have stated a 3,400 student high school will add diversity to high school educational offerings; lower operating costs; and “unify” Lake Wylie and Clover. I believe these contentions are wrong on all counts.

CHS already has a diverse and rich educational offering. Clover High School is ranked highly statewide. Now the board is proposing to radically change and jeopardize what has made the school great by nearly doubling the current population of the school, thus defying overwhelming evidence that doing so will likely destroy what we have. The probability is that even more offerings will take away from the core curriculum, have little student acceptance and add unjustified costs. Beneficial relationships between and among students, teachers, staff and parents will decrease significantly.

Regarding operating cost of our high school(s), most evidence shows cost per graduate is equal or lower in smaller high schools as compared to larger ones due to lower drop-out rates and fewer transfers-out. It may be slightly less expensive to contain students in larger boxes on an annual basis, but are we looking for cheap containers or high quality education leading to graduation?

Dozens of national, statewide, regional and local studies in rural, suburban and urban areas done by major universities, state departments of education including both South Carolina and North Carolina, and various highly-respected independent research organizations all over the United States have shown that high schools with more than 2,000 students have: lower test scores, lower grades, lower graduation rates, and higher drop-out rates; more truancy, and more problems with gangs, substance abuse, bullying and violence; much lower opportunities for participation in extra-curricular activities such as athletics; greatly reduced student-teacher-parent interaction; more levels of bureaucracy and less educational community resulting in decreased student loyalty; decreased likelihood of going on to college and other advanced education; and a significantly lower quality of education.

Regarding community unity, Clover and Lake Wylie are and have been for many years different in character and history. We should be celebrating the unique and desirable characteristics of each, not trying to eliminate them through so-called “unification.”

The board is using deceptive and misleading tactics in the packaging and marketing the referendum. The proposal is structured to make it appear to be an “all or nothing” proposition.

It has been said taxes will not increase because current bonds will mature and go away. The fact is current debt will not be paid off until 2027 (13 years from now), and the new bonds (probably issued in 2017) will likely add as much as 60 percent to the current property tax millage rates for 20 years including 10 years of overlap with current bonds.

The school board admits to having no backup plan. The arrogance of such an ill-considered proposal should be obvious.

For the future benefit of Lake Wylie and Clover, I believe the bond referendum as currently structured, should be soundly defeated.

Don Long is a Lake Wylie resident.