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Community Care residents could be back by week’s end

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By Steven Martens | Tuesday, August 07, 2007 |

CHARLOTTE, Iowa — About half of the 87 residents displaced by a fire Saturday at the Community Care facility could be moved back by the end of the week, with the rest returning within two weeks, a company executive said Monday.

The damage to the Charlotte building does not appear to be as serious as originally feared, but an estimate will not be available until an insurance adjuster examines the damages today, said Benjamin Wright, executive director for Community Care Inc.

“It’s going about as well as can be expected,” Wright said.

About half of the displaced residents are being housed at the former Andrew Jackson Care Facility near Andrew and about half are staying at the Motel 6 in Clinton, Wright said. A few of the residents are staying with family members.

The fire broke out at 4:13 a.m. Saturday at the facility at 1611 330th Ave. A resident of the facility, Edward Wilson Meyers, 47, has been charged with first-degree arson in connection with the fire.

Meyers told investigators he started the fire in his third-floor room by using a lighter to set fire to a blanket on his bed, according to court records. When firefighters arrived, they found Meyers’ entire mattress engulfed in flames, the records state.

Meyers remained in the Clinton County Jail on Monday in lieu of $32,000 bond.

Wright offered his thanks to a variety of people and organizations that have come to the aid of the displaced residents. Some residents lost personal items in the fire, but their needs for replacement items have not been assessed, he said.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to assist in the recovery from the fire is asked to contact the Gateway Chapter of the American Red Cross at (563) 242-5223.

Donations also are being accepted by Community Care’s David Hartmann Foundation, which funds capital projects for Community Care. Information is available by contacting Community Care at (563) 659-4100.

Steven Martens can be contacted at (563) 659-2595 or smartens@qctimes.com.