I live in a manufactured home park called Rosewood Estates run by CMH Parks, Clayton homes. Our park sets aside the local elementary school where my children attend school.
I became aware that "someone" had placed carpet tack stripping along the top of the parks block wall between the school and our park. It is no where else on the other sides of the park.
It is well known that the kids in our community hop the wall to get into the school yard as it is safer than walking along the busy street in front of our park to get to school.
The tack strips are rusty and very sharp and have caused injuries already, they are placed just far enough back on the wall top that you don't see them until your on top of them. The spikes point in toward the park.
I went to the police knowing that who ever did it was guilty of criminal endangerment with the intent to hurt the kids so that they would stop hopping the wall. I was infuriated at the thought that this was a way someone felt they should teach our children a lesson. I did not go to the office persons because I was not sure that they were not the ones who put it there. They do not have a good reputation in the park for fairness or logic.
I was told by the police that if it were not removed within a reasonable amount of time it could be a prosecutable felony offence regardless of who placed them there. The officer assured me that he would talk to the office persons at the park and inform them that they needed to be removed. I witnessed him doing so.
I waited several days hoping that the park would remove the strips and finally called the CMH parks complaint manager. I explained the situation and that it still had not been resolved. She seemed quite irritated at the idea that I was cautious about going to the office people. I told her that here were alot of complaints about the way the parks issues were handled. She told me that anyone who said anything negative about the office staff was at fault and there for a disgruntled resident. I told her that I did not know who did it but it was odd that the only place they were was on the school side and that I couldn't see the parents doing that. And that I had one placed behind my house and I could not see why a resident would do that. "Maybe behind their house but why mine?" She asked me why I did not call the office And I told her that I was concerned about retaliation. She assured me that that would not be an issue. She forwarded the information to the regional manager. Two days later and the regional manager contacts me. He was hostile and defensive stating that the residents were the ones that put the tacks up to keep kids from hopping the fence. Although he could not tell me who it was or how he knew it was the residents. I told him I did not care who did it I just wanted them taken down. I explained that those people he was accusing would be the same residents that have children that hop the fence. And that I had them behind my house. He informed me that It was my responsibility to remove them and that It wasn't their problem. He proceeded to begin name calling when I told him I was not going to go out and pry up rusty carpet tacking that was niled to the wall. I told him that if the park was so concerned with safety they should have taken the strips down a week ago when the police informed them that they were there. And that he should be trying to find out who did it. He did not have a legible response. And did not seem to get how dangerous the situation was. I was amazed at how verbally abusive he was and had expected him to want to fix the problem instead of making it worse. If someone purposely sets a "trap" to harm a child, whatever material they use to do so is evidence. I will not remove it. The carpet tacks have been up for 3 months. I have photos of it showing them in relation to the park and school. Here's my question, why would a resident haul carpet tacking thru 15 plus back yards of peoples home tacking it up on top of the park wall and if it was not some one who worked in the park don't you think one resident would ask why the heck that person was in there yard? It is not the kind of neighborhood that takes kindly to strangers in their yards. Maintenance men however would not be questioned. If it is a resident they need to be prosecuted, and if it is the park they should get the same! I am still waiting to see if they fix the problem.
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