THE HILLSDALE CONSERVATIVES
Truth • Liberty • Local Stewardship
Hillsdale County, Michigan • Oct, 1st, 2026 • 2¢

The Hillsdale Conservatives recently received the following letter from Charity Wooten concerning an escalating dispute with the Village of Waldron over her family’s fire-damaged home.

What began as an effort by a family to rebuild after losing nearly everything to a house fire has, according to Wooten, turned into a bureaucratic nightmare involving halted inspections, withheld insurance proceeds, threatened demolition, disputed legal demands, and repeated difficulties getting an emergency matter placed before a judge.

These are serious allegations, and they deserve serious attention.

At the center of the dispute is a simple question: Should a local government be able to prevent a homeowner from completing required inspections, continue holding money needed to finish the work, and then use the resulting delay as justification to demolish the property?

Wooten says her family has invested months of labor and their own money rebuilding the house, purchased the necessary materials, obtained permits, and worked with the Hillsdale County Building Inspector. She alleges that just as the project approached a critical inspection, the Village of Waldron ordered inspections stopped.

Now, with a demolition permit reportedly pulled and the family attempting to obtain emergency judicial review, Wooten is asking for help before the situation becomes irreversible.

We are publishing her letter below substantially as it was provided to us so the people of Hillsdale County can read her account for themselves.

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My name is Charity Wooten, and I am reaching out regarding an urgent case of municipal corruption, illegal administrative freezes, and an imminent violation of federal civil rights occurring right now in Hillsdale County.

The Letter:

Last fall, my family residential home located at 200 N. Main St., Waldron, MI 49288 burnt due to faulty tube and knob wiring, resulting in a total loss. The property subsequently flooded twice this spring.

In the four months after, the house was successfully made viable by me, my fiancé, and our 15-year-old son. We acted in complete good faith, bought the permits, manually removed all debris from the total loss, and entirely reframed the house completely out of pocket, single-handedly bringing this property back to a viable structure.

During this halted project time, we have even started finishing the outside of the home using extra materials we already have on hand.

The Hillsdale County Building Inspector actively reviewed and verbally approved our structural framing progress. The final rough frame was down to only two more ceiling joists and two joists below the stairs that we simply hadn’t had the money to replace yet.

Furthermore, the Village is completely aware that we have already bought all of the electrical components, including the meter, shut-off, breaker box, and wiring, as well as drywall, fire alarms, and all doors.

Everything has been purchased in good faith.

We are only missing the spray foam insulation for the roof joists, but we cannot install the electrical or move forward because we are legally trapped. We have to pass the rough framing inspection to move on, yet the Village of Waldron explicitly ordered the county inspector’s office to halt all inspections on my home the very day of that inspection.

The Tyranny, Coercion & Silencing of Due Process:

The Village is currently holding my 25% statutory fire insurance escrow withholding fund under MCL 500.2845.

Using this extreme financial leverage, the Village of Waldron’s lawyer, Fredrick Lucas, explicitly gave me two options: either the town would demolish my home and keep the insurance check, or I had to sign away my rights, giving me only 90 days to achieve full completion while also forcing me to pay the town’s undisclosed legal fees, fees that remain blank and undisclosed to this day.

Faced with the immediate destruction of my home, I signed under severe duress.

To make matters worse, I had found a private lawyer who agreed to file an emergency temporary restraining order, a lawsuit, and an affidavit on my behalf for $1,500. However, after that lawyer spoke directly with Village Attorney Fredrick Lucas, he called me back demanding $7,500 to file the exact same motions, effectively pricing me out of legal defense.

The Village then intentionally forced a complete block on my rough framing inspection specifically to remove my ability to legally deem the property a viable structure.

Upon completion of the rough frame, the property would legally be deemed a viable structure, at which time the 25% check would legally have to be handed over to me. By blocking the inspector, they are intentionally stopping the release of my funds.

This is a vicious personal vendetta.

The Village has held meetings in which I was explicitly told I may not speak, even in a meeting where my property address was the only item on the entire agenda.

I firmly believe they are intentionally trying to block our rebuild to artificially lower the value of my property so they can seize it and use it for an upcoming city drainage project.

There is absolutely nothing structurally stopping us from rebuilding this home, yet the town is vindictively weaponizing their power to tear down a viable house and displace minor children.

Court System Blockade:

Because the 90 days have expired under their intentional inspection freeze, the Village has now pulled a demolition permit.

I have tried to file emergency court actions three times now to stop the bulldozers, but the court system is blocking my constitutional right to file:

• The first time, the Circuit Court sent me to District Court. The District Court told me they don’t even have a notary public and sent me right back to Circuit.
• The Circuit Court clerk then claimed my formatting was wrong and refused to file it.
• The last two times, they cited the exact same formatting excuse. They explicitly claimed that even with a completed MC 20 Fee Waiver form, it would cost me hundreds of dollars, sending me away and refusing to file or even stamp my documents “RECEIVED” for the transcript record.

They are rushing to bring bulldozers before an acting Circuit Judge can hear the case following the recent, sudden passing of Circuit Judge Sara Lisznyai.

This is an egregious case of administrative coercion designed to steal an insurance fund, violate the Open Meetings Act, and destroy a safe, structurally sound home that my family poured their blood and sweat into, leaving a vulnerable family completely displaced.

Emergency appeals and civil rights notices are currently being delivered to the Michigan Court of Appeals, the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO), and the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office.

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The allegations contained in this letter should concern every resident of Hillsdale County, regardless of whether they know this family personally.

Government has enormous power. It can issue permits, stop construction, hold funds, enforce ordinances, condemn property, and in extreme circumstances order a building demolished. With that power comes an equally enormous responsibility to follow the law, provide due process, apply rules fairly, and give citizens a meaningful opportunity to be heard.

No family should lose its home simply because government created a situation in which compliance became impossible.

If the Village believes its actions are lawful and justified, then those actions should withstand public scrutiny and judicial review. If Wooten’s account is accurate, then this family deserves an immediate opportunity to get before a judge before any irreversible action is taken.

Once a house is demolished, there is no meaningful way to give it back.

We are asking members of the community, attorneys, contractors, public officials, civil liberties organizations, and anyone capable of helping this family obtain meaningful review of this situation to step forward.

At a minimum, demolition should not outrun due process.

Charity and her family have already fought through a fire, flooding, months of rebuilding, financial hardship, and an administrative battle simply to save their home. They should not have to fight alone.

If you can provide legal assistance, construction assistance, financial help, documentation, eyewitness information, or another meaningful form of support, we encourage you to reach out and help.

And for everyone else, pay attention.

Because property rights and due process only mean something when they still apply to the person standing between the government and a bulldozer.

in liberty,
The Hillsdale Conservatives