SISSONVILLE, W.Va. -- Kanawha County officials have gone to circuit court to gain entry to a run-down mobile home park in Sissonville.

County officials have been getting complaints about the Aultz Trailer Park near Sissonville High School since 2004, according to a court petition filed Friday in Kanawha Circuit Court. Officials have been trying to force owner Mary Aultz to clean up the park, which neighbors say is overgrown and rat-infested.

Of 26 mobile homes in the park, only seven were occupied by 2007, county officials allege.

In March of that year, the Kanawha County Commission ordered Aultz to clean up the mobile home park, including tearing down a number of mobile homes that were contaminated with asbestos. They have been fighting Aultz ever since.

Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said Aultz has tried to stall or stymie cleaning up the park ever since. "The word 'obstructionist' comes to mind," he said Friday.

In December 2007, county officials ordered that the county would tear down the park if Aultz didn't. Despite promises to clean up the park and get rid of the mobile homes, Aultz has not done so, officials said.

Kanawha County sheriff's deputies and State Police went to the property earlier this week with contractors hired by the county to demolish the remaining mobile homes and clean up the trailer park. "I anticipated we were going to have problems, and we did," Carper said.

So county officials went to Kanawha Circuit Court for an order allowing them on the property to tear down the mobile homes. The case has been assigned to Judge Irene Berger.

"We want to give [Aultz] her due process rights," Carper said. "We're trying to abide by what we believe are the needs of the community versus this particular property owner."

Reach Rusty Marks

at rustyma...@wvgazette.com

or 304-348-1215.

SISSONVILLE, W.Va. -- Kanawha County officials have gone to circuit court to gain entry to a run-down mobile home park in Sissonville.

County officials have been getting complaints about the Aultz Trailer Park near Sissonville High School since 2004, according to a court petition filed Friday in Kanawha Circuit Court. Officials have been trying to force owner Mary Aultz to clean up the park, which neighbors say is overgrown and rat-infested.

Of 26 mobile homes in the park, only seven were occupied by 2007, county officials allege.

In March of that year, the Kanawha County Commission ordered Aultz to clean up the mobile home park, including tearing down a number of mobile homes that were contaminated with asbestos. They have been fighting Aultz ever since.

Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said Aultz has tried to stall or stymie cleaning up the park ever since. "The word 'obstructionist' comes to mind," he said Friday.

In December 2007, county officials ordered that the county would tear down the park if Aultz didn't. Despite promises to clean up the park and get rid of the mobile homes, Aultz has not done so, officials said.

Kanawha County sheriff's deputies and State Police went to the property earlier this week with contractors hired by the county to demolish the remaining mobile homes and clean up the trailer park. "I anticipated we were going to have problems, and we did," Carper said.

So county officials went to Kanawha Circuit Court for an order allowing them on the property to tear down the mobile homes. The case has been assigned to Judge Irene Berger.

"We want to give [Aultz] her due process rights," Carper said. "We're trying to abide by what we believe are the needs of the community versus this particular property owner."

Reach Rusty Marks

at rustyma...@wvgazette.com

or 304-348-1215.