Time is running out to save a veteran’s home in Paragould, Arkansas.
The city council agreed to table a motion condemning Michael Settlemoir’s home on July 23, instead giving him an additional 30 days to bring the structure up to code following a plea by neighbors.
Photos show the interior of the home has extensive damage to its floors, ceiling, electrical and plumbing systems. Neighbors are also coming together to help Settlemoir clean up his yard.
“I had no idea the inside of the house was in such disarray,” said Joe Dowdy, who made the plea and is spearing the effort to raise money to cover the cost of repairs and find volunteers to do the necessary work.
Settlemoir purchased the house in 2014 with the intention of living there permanently, Dowdy said. For the past five years, he has been purchasing materials to make repairs, but failing health, his meager income and vandals have thwarted his efforts.
“Every time he would get something going, vandals would come,” said Dowdy.
Settlemoir is a National Guard veteran who lives on disability and simply doesn’t have the money to renovate his home all at once, he said.
“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” Dowdy acknowledged on the GoFundMe page he’s set up for the project. “We have some of the materials that are needed and people willing to volunteer for labor, but we need funding to cover the costs of the electrician, the plumber, and back taxes that are owed.”
Dowdy himself is a combat veteran who said he suffers from PTS and a traumatic brain injury as a result of his service in Afghanistan. He said he can’t save Settlemoir’s house by himself.
“I’ve got 19 days left,” he said.
The condemnation resolution is scheduled to be taken up at the council’s Aug. 26 meeting.
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