Man on a Tower

Wayne's Back on the tower!

2008-06-01T00:02:00.002-05:00

He went up May 23, 2008. Find out more at our new website: www.ManOnATower.com

Update

2007-02-07T13:01:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the lack of updates.

Anyway, we were in court Monday to decide the issue of Wayne being allowed to keep two mobile homes on his property. The judge said that he would make a written ruling in two or three days. But it looks like he's going to rule against us on this issue too.

Don't worry, though. We haven't given up yet.

Here's another interesting note: The opposing side didn't want our witnesses to be allowed to testify Monday. It was like they were afraid of them or something.

Another Day in Court

2007-02-04T22:18:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow (Feb 5) we go before the judge on the issue of whether or not we are breaking the homeowner's association's rules by having two mobile homes on our property.

We ask first of all that you please pray for us. God has been with us so far and we are trusting him to carry us the rest of the way.

If you would like go come down to the courthouse in person to show your support you can do that as well. It will be at the Elmore County Courthouse on Highway 231 just north of Wetumpka. The hearing starts at 9:00 am.

I think this is the address:
8935 US Highway 231
Wetumpka, AL 36092

Anyone know Charles W. Parrott?

2007-01-25T10:10:00.000-06:00

Does anyone out there know Mr. Charles Wayne Parrott? The people who live in River Falls Subdivision don’t know who he is. He doesn’t live out here. Yet he is the president of the River Falls Homeowner’s Association.

One thing clear

2007-01-23T22:11:00.000-06:00

We want to make one thing clear. As a member of the community, Mr. Spires was NOT opposed to paying the $1500 to help with the roads. However, he didn’t happen to have that much money lying around. (Would you?) So he asked if he could make payments. He was told no—the whole amount was due at one time. And when he could not pay it, a lien was placed against his property.

We still maintain, however, that even if he paid the money, it would not make him a member of the homeowner’s association.

Monday Morning 1170 am

2007-01-22T08:30:00.000-06:00

As I write this Wayne and his daughter are being interviewed by Leslie Bailey on 1170 am WACV. If you're in the Montgomery area, tune in. If you're not, you can listen over the internet. Just click the Listen Live link on their website.

If you'd like to email Wayne, you can send email to: waynesrainbow@gmail.com

To read the letter Wayne wrote when he first went up click here.

To donate money: You can use the "Make a donation" button on the left to send money via credit card or paypal. If you'd like to send a check, you can send it to:

Wayne Spires
1597 River Falls Road
Wetumpka, AL 36092

Did they say "swap" or "swamp"?

2007-01-15T10:44:00.000-06:00

Remember the offer they made a while back to swap our lot + $15,000 for a couple other lots? Well, here's a picture of one of the lots:

Not exactly sure how we could build a house on that. I guess we could put a house boat there.

Why are we being singled out?

2007-01-14T23:17:00.000-06:00

It appears that we are being singled out by the homeowner's association. Several of the directors are violating the rules that they think are so important for all of us to live by.
Click here to see all the details.

Court Papers

2007-01-14T23:11:00.000-06:00

We got the official court papers -- it’s the written ruling of what the judge said verbally. This fight isn't over yet though -- we're appealing.

A couple of things to note:

The papers didn't come through until the other side went and filed a motion for them to be handed down before February 5th.

The papers appear to have been written by the order side’s attorneys and then signed by the judge. Apparently this happens often.

Donation Button

2007-01-13T13:08:00.000-06:00

Several people have asked if they can make a donation to help out. So we've added a "Make a Donation" button on the left side of the page. You can use it to make donations using your credit card or PayPal account.

Note to hams: There's been some confusion about this. This is not about being allowed to kept his tower. It is about keeping his home.

Can they really take his home?

2007-01-12T09:51:00.000-06:00

People may be asking "Can they really take his home because he didn't pay the fee? The answer is a resounding

Yes!

John Moore received a paper telling him that they were taking his property and selling it. And John had his deed in 1993--two years before the homeowner's association was formed!!

The Offer

2007-01-11T15:53:00.000-06:00

I was waiting to get the letters scanned before posting this but I haven't had a chance so I'll post it now & put the pictures up later.

Wayne went up the poll on January 1, 2007. A couple of days later we received a letter from the lawyer of the man who owns 39 of the 54 lots. In it, he makes us this offer:

We give him our lot (#12) and $15,000 and he would give us two of his lots (#4 and #6). Somehow he forgot to mention that both lot #4 and lot #6 are in a flood zone! You're not allowed to build on either one! But don't worry, we're not moving to the swamp. We got another letter from his lawyer dated January 4, 2007 rescinding the offer.

Update: You can see the offer here
Update: You can see the letter revoking the offer here

Article in Prattville Paper

2007-01-11T10:07:00.000-06:00

The Prattville Progress has another article here: http://www.prattvilleprogress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070110/PROGRESS/701100302/1040/progress

We would like to point out that the person in the article "who owns several lots" actually owns 39 of the 54 lots. Because of this he is able to do pretty much what he wants.

A Car Analogy

2007-01-10T09:06:00.000-06:00

Someone once said that anything can be explained by a car analogy. Well, here’s one for this situation:

It’s like I agree to sell you a car. I tell you about the squeaky brakes and you are okay with that. You pay me the money and I give you the title. Then I say, “Oh, by the way, I’ve decided that you aren’t allowed to drive the car on the interstate.”

You’d look at me like I was crazy.

But that’s what’s happening here. After Wayne paid for his land they tried to add restrictions to it.

Good Spirits

2007-01-10T08:27:00.000-06:00

I spoke with Wayne last night and he seemed to be in good spirits after getting some needed rest.

Montgomery Advertiser Photo Gallery

2007-01-09T11:55:00.000-06:00

The Montgomery Advertiser website has some more photos of Wayne here:
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=DS&Date=20070108&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=108001&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=1

Sleep

2007-01-08T15:16:00.000-06:00

Wayne is in his bed right now getting some well deserved sleep.

Why

2007-01-08T15:11:00.000-06:00

Wayne Spires is down from his tower. He says that he came down because he believes that the judge may reconsider his decision. The judge made an oral ruling, but nothing was ever written down, so he has hope that the judge is further researching things. Also he feels that the situtation has received the press that it needed. However, he has stated that he will probably go back up Februrary 5th if things don't turn out right.

He came down!

2007-01-08T13:16:00.000-06:00

At 1:00 pm today Wayne Spires climbed down his tower. He was on the tower for 1 whole week. As I write this he is speaking to the press. We'll have another post soon about the reasons he came down.

Define "majority"

2007-01-07T21:00:00.000-06:00

The other side says that a “majority” of people out here have gone ahead and paid the road fees.

There are about 16 people who own property in the River Falls area. Of those 16, about 10 where opposed to having these road fees assessed. Three of these opposed paid because they were forced to. (One of which came to within 3 days of losing his home.)

However, since one man owns about 39 of the 54 lots and gets one vote per lot, he can demand pretty much anything he wants.

Watching Wayne

2007-01-07T18:59:00.000-06:00

Some people may be wondering so I thought I’d let you know. There is someone out there with Wayne 24/7. Family and friends are taking turns to make sure he has everything he needs.

A Whole New Respect

2007-01-07T18:48:00.000-06:00

Hi, this is Mark, Wayne’s son-in-law. I just wanted to let everyone know how proud I am of him. I’ve known him for a while, but after this I’ve gained a whole new respect for him. Today, so many people just take the easy way out of things. But this man is taking a stand. He is fighting to save his home for himself and his family. This may be the bravest act I have ever witnessed in my life.

--Mark

Pictures

2007-01-07T13:37:00.000-06:00

You can see more pictures of Wayne at this Flickr address: http://www.flickr.com/photos/waynespires/

Wetumpka Herald

2007-01-06T22:07:00.000-06:00

The January 6, 2007 edition of the Wetumpka Herald has a story about the situation. You can read it online here: http://www.thewetumpkaherald.com/articles/2007/01/05/news/news01.txt.

We would, however, like to make a few comments about things mentioned in the article.

First is about this statement that appeared in the article:

“He was offered every opportunity to pay his fair share,” said Parrott. “He could even have paid it over a 12-month period.

First of all, we were not offered a 12-month payment plan. Around the beginning of the year a letter was placed in our mailbox stating that we had until April 1, 2006 to pay $1500. When it was not paid a lean of $3,230.50 was placed against us (and everyone else who had not paid.)

Second, Charles W. Parrott does not even own land in the River Falls area and most of the people living out here don't even know who he is.

Third, the article mentions one landowner who "owns nearly 40 of the lots." This person makes it sound like he was willing to pay the assessments even if he had to borrow money. What he doesn't mention is that this individual is one of the people who wanted the assessments in the first place and is also the one who placed the liens.

Prattville Progress Newspaper Article

2007-01-06T10:35:00.000-06:00

The Prattville Progress has a good article explaining the situation on their website. Click here to read it.

Leslie Bailey

2007-01-05T08:38:00.000-06:00

Wayne's wife, Donna, and his daughter Leslie have been interviewed the last couple of days by WACV 1170 AM's Leslie Bailey.

Weather

2007-01-05T08:31:00.000-06:00

We had some bad weather come thru this morning. It was raining and lightning. We tried to talk him into coming down. But he said that the Lord would protect him. The weather passed and he's ok.

Last night

2007-01-05T08:27:00.000-06:00

We were worried about the weather last night. It rained some starting about two o'oclock. Things were ok until about 5 am.

Rick and Bubba

2007-01-04T08:52:00.000-06:00

Wayne was on the Rick and Bubba show today! Rick and Bubba interviewed him on air! Thanks guys!

Email Address

2007-01-04T08:51:00.000-06:00

If you want to email Wayne, you can contact him at:

Montgomery Advertiser

2007-01-04T08:47:00.000-06:00

Today's Montgomery Advertiser has a story about Wayne and a big picture on page B1!

You can also read it online here: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070104/NEWS01/701040334/1007/NEWS05

Most people have NOT paid

2007-01-03T22:07:00.000-06:00

A recent story on the situtation mentioned that a lawyer for the homeowner's association said that most of the members have paid. This is a misleading statement. Their are 54 lots in the area. One man owns 39 of them. Therefore he automatically has 72% of everything. Since he's paid, they claim that "a majority" of residents have paid.

Letter from Mr. Spires

2007-01-03T22:04:00.000-06:00

You can read a letter Mr. Spires wrote before climbing the tower by clicking here.

Video Interview

2007-01-03T14:24:00.000-06:00

Local television station WSFA Channel 12 came out and did a story. You can see it on their website, including a video interview with Mr. Spires, here: http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=5883357

Why is this man sitting on a tower?

2007-01-03T13:18:00.000-06:00

Why?

The short version is this: When Robert and Donna Spires first purchased their land, there were no restrictions on it. After they received their deed, a homeowner's association was formed and tried to enforce their restrictions on them. They refused. Now the homeowner's association has a judgement against them that they can't pay. If they don't pay then the homeowner's association will place a lien on their land and probably take it from them.

They ask for your prays.