Our residents at Whippoorwill Hill Mobile Home Park in Wiscasset are experiencing ongoing difficulties and dangers caused by unsafe drinking water, overflowing septic fields, water drainage problems, hazardous trees and unmaintained empty lots covered with tall grass and 6-foot-high weeds.

On Aug. 6, there will be a court hearing at the Wiscasset District Court in which our park’s ongoing problems will be assessed. There are town officials in Wiscasset (who choose to remain anonymous) who have been warning us that the judicial hierarchy in Lincoln County renders a high degree of partiality toward the interests of landlords while largely ignoring the basic habitability rights of renters.

Recently, I spoke with a local official about our park’s drinking water, which, according to tests from Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services, contains a uranium level that exceeds the maximum contaminant level and “can cause cancer.” The official warned me that the judge will likely ignore the existence of such a high uranium level. When I asked if judges in Lincoln County tend to satisfy the interests of landlords at the expense of the renters, he answered, “Yes.”

If a child drinks the water in our park, he/she is placing his life at risk. If the judge allows our landlord to get away with failing to fix the park’s drinking water and its other habitability problems, this judge is placing all of our lives in danger. This will be a very sad day for the rights of all Mainers.

Tom Kurtz
Wiscasset