This weeks PC POW WOW: Andrew Wordes, The Roswell Chicken Man
Many of you have closely followed the Roswell Chicken Man saga and his fight against the city of Roswell. He was recently released from his stint in jail and it’s time to update his supporters.
Mr. Wordes is the PC POW WOW due to his hopeful and positive attitude despite the hardships he has continuously encountered.
Thanks to an article in the AJC, it was public knowledge that Mr. Wordes’ home was sitting vacant during his absence. Andrew returned to a ransacked home with hundreds of legal papers strewn about, antiques and guns missing and the overall property in dire condition.
If you recall, Roswell stated that they would secure the property while Mr. Wordes was incarcerated. Once again, Roswell…BRAVO!!
Mr. Wordes has no word on the state of his home. He has not received formal foreclosure papers, though he was in jail and anything could have happened to them had they been served. He has not been evicted from the premises either. The home has been advertised as foreclosed and rumors are circulating that the home has been condemned by the City of Roswell. This idea presents a few questions, like, if it were a health concern, wouldn’t condemnation come from the County Department, not the City? And if it’s a structural problem, wouldn’t this again be associated with the excessive flooding situation that the City of Roswell has yet to rectify? (See prior Chicken Man blogs explaining these issues here and here.)
The great news is all of Andrew’s birds are in the care of sweet friends who have been so kind to nurture them in his absence. They are all healthy and thriving. For now, Mr. Wordes will seek employment, continue his fight against the City of Roswell, petition for his STILL outstanding Open-Records Requests to be answered (30 to be exact) and work on reuniting with his birds.
You can show your support by writing and calling Roswell City Officials and contacting Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens:
Office of the Attorney General 40 Capitol Square, SW Atlanta, Ga 30334-(404) 656-3300
Also, visit the Roswell Chicken Man Facebook Page for updates.
The Perspicacious Conservative 
Shame on the Roswell government. What a bunch of cold-hearted losers, who don’t care about the life of a decent, hard working man. Shame!
Is this what our soldiers are fighting for? What is going on with the common sense of gov’t officials. Having bicycled with Roswell Mayor Jerry, I’m appalled he could let this happen to such a sweet, non confrontational, “mind his own business” kind of neighbor you would want in your “hood”. We must help this man.
I thought his house was foreclosed for non-payment while he was in jail? I’m not saying it’s not a shame what’s happening to him, but if you don’t pay your mortgage, you can’t have a house. if the house was indeed foreclosed, that’s not his house anymore and the new owner (probably an investor or something) has a responsibility to secure and care for the property.
Melissa,
It is unclear as to whether the house has Been foreclosed or not. Regardless, the AJC reported that the home was vacant and it was subsequently ransacked and trashed, destroying the majority of Mr Wordes things. Foreclosure or not, this was wrong.
I don’t disagree that the poor guys house shouldn’t have been ransacked and it was definitely irresponsible for the AJC to report that his house would be vacant and unattended. As far as the whole “it’s unclear as to whether the house has been foreclosed” it really isn’t that complicated. A 15 minute visit to the courthouse would answer that question once and for all. It was either cried on the courthouse steps or is wasn’t. There’s a courthouse full of records that will provide the answer.
I assume this is a “conservative” blog as indicated by the name. I’m wondering when anyone is going to suggest that the guy here take some personal responsibility for what’s going on and stop playing the victim.
He didn’t pay his mortgage and his house got foreclosed, but somehow he’s the victim.
He was cited for violations of some sort .. maybe noise or his property being in disrepair or something. He was given opportunities to comply and he didn’t. He was ordered to do community service, and he plain didn’t do it so he was sent to jail, but somehow once again, he’s the victim.
I just don’t see anyone suggesting that he brought a lot of this on himself.
Interesting point of view, Melissa. Numerous people have attempted to inquire about the status of the house during Mr. Wordes time in jail, and afterwards, including elected officials. The mortgage note has been sold to a different mortgage holder, as indicated by previous articles. Mr. Wordes is in the process of working with his attorney to tie up all loose ends. He has had a difficult time attaining any answers without legal counsel (he has 30 outstanding, unanswered open records requests).
Yes, you are correct that this is a “conservative” blog, but I’m not sure you understand the full capacity of the City of Roswell’s actions in this case. The articles posted on this blog examine the vendetta the City has against this man and the havoc they have wrecked on his life because of his chickens.
No one has disputed that Mr. Wordes did not complete his community service, however, it was an extreme punishment for the “crime”. 99 days in jail for grading land and failing to pay a fine? And don’t you find it ironic that the man was released the week AFTER the election…an election in which 3 of the key actors in his case (Becky Wynn, Rich Dippolito, and Judge Hilliard) were all up for reelection? I know I see no irony.
Also, this man has a SIGNIFICANT number of supporters. Do you honestly think he would garner that much support if he was the kind of irresponsible “victim” that you are implying he is?
Well I don’t know what the records requests are about or what information he’s trying to obtain and from whom, so I can’t really comment on that. As for the mortgage note being sold, that’s really irrelevant as to whether the property has been foreclosed or not. You don’t have to have an attorney or file any open records requests to walk into the Fulton county courthouse to find out if the house has been foreclosed or not. This is the whole “we don’t even know what’s going on with the house” or “he hasn’t received official foreclosure notices” is the type of language that perpetuates the the irresponsible victim implication. Instead of waiting around for someone to tell him what’s going on, why not hop on the bus and go find out for yourself?
If I’m not mistaken, he didn’t get put in jail for grading his yard. There were different penalties or fines for that. He was put in jail for ignoring the rule of law. Just because you don’t agree with a law (for example, that you must obtain a permit before grading your property, or that your property must be adequately maintained by the owner), you don’t simply get to ignore it because you don’t like or agree with it. He chose to not obey the law when he graded his property without obtaining the necessary permits. He was fined for that. He ignored the fine and was sentenced to some community service. He ignored that too. I think he was jailed for repeatedly ignoring the law, not for grading his property. He demonstrated through his inaction that he had no intention of complying with the city or the ordinances they are responsible for enforcing.
I can’t comment on the bit about the election. I don’t live in Roswell and I don’t follow local Roswell politics.
As for your point “Do you honestly think he would garner that much support if he was the kind of irresponsible “victim” that you are implying he is?” Umm .. absolutely I do. Surely you’re not suggesting that because some people “support” someone else that they’re automatically right? The number of examples of people who have lots of supporters but are in fact evil, bad or just wrong is too numerous and politically charged to bring up here. But I’m sure upon reflection you’ll agree that just because someone has supporters doesn’t make them right.
And I gotta tell you, I’ve seen pictures of this fellows back yard with pigs, chickens and roosters, coops and who knows what else. This is in a residential neighborhood, and if I lived in that neighborhood I would fight tooth and nail to get that mess out. No one is saying he can’t have all those things, he just can’t have them there. If he wants a farm, he needs to move out to the country where that’s permitted. I understand that Roswell now has ordinances in place to prevent the situation that Andrew has, and that Andrew was grandfathered in, but the point is that the community of Roswell decided as a collective whole that they didn’t want that kind of activity or animal (or quantity) of animals in residential neighborhoods, and Andrew was granted an exception to the new ordinace because he was there first.
Also, how can the City of Roswell have a vendetta against this guy when the MAYOR OF ROSWELL represents the guy in court?
Melissa, I appreciate you reading the blog and your attempt to engage in a debate. You have yours and I have mine and seems as though those won’t change–and fair enough.
I would like to clarify, as you seemed to have missed it in other articles: the City DOES have a vendetta against this man. With the exception of Councilwoman Price and Mayor Wood. The remaining council members, city administrator, city attorney and their inferiors have ALL mistreated mr Wordes and violated ethical, if not legal rights. See open records requests. There are several witnesses who can attest to all of these things.
Further, if you lived in the neighborhood, You could “fight tooth and nail” but ultimately do nothing to remove Mr Wordes from his home. Creating post facto laws to try and apply them just strengthens Mr Wordes case.
You really should follow Roswell politics as I feel it may clarify the entire picture for you. These members of council had multiple opponents in the last election because of their multiple abuses of power.
Also, if you are so wonderful with resources and obtaining records, why don’t you volunteer your time for the cause and then maybe learn some facts first hand.
Things aren’t always as they seem.
Fair enough. And I certainly admit I don’t know all the details surrounding the case, and I suspect that in reality no one really knows ALL the facts. They’re too spread out amongst too many people.
I would like to clarify my comment you referenced regarding my willingness to “fight tooth and nail.” What I meant when I said I would “fight tooth and nail to get that mess out.” I mean the chickens, roosters, and pigs and other farm animals. I firmly believe in personal property rights and I don’t think anyone has the right to take another’s property (unless of course that property is put up as collateral for a loan, such as in a mortgage). I would never support the government or anyone else taking another person’s property just because you don’t like the guy or have some disagreement with him or her. But in this case, Andrew losing his home didn’t have anything to do with the City of Roswell or him having chickens or roosters or pigs. It was simply a matter of not paying the mortgage.
As for your sarcastic “why don’t you go get the records and volunteer your time to the cause” it’s really simple why I don’t do that. I don’t care. Homes don’t get foreclosed because their owners have chickens or because they don’t get along with the city council members. They get foreclosed because they don’t pay the mortgage. You write a blog positioning this as though there’s some huge mystery or conspiracy surrounding the status of the house and whether it has been foreclosed or not. You started a dialogue suggesting that the status is unknown. I’m simply pointing out that if _you_ want to know, there’s a pretty simple way to find out. Rather than complain about not having the information, why don’t you just go get it? You start a conversation by posting the blog, then resort to a “if you’re so smart, why don’t you go do it” when someone posts an alternative point of view? So now I’m not allowed to have an opinion different than yours unless I volunteer to go to the courthouse and “maybe learn some facts firsthand?” I have refrained from sarcasm and tried to have a civil discussion about an alternative viewpoint and you’ve deteriorated to sarcasm.
Melissa,
Thanks for the suggestion. As it so happens, there is a team of people working to get everything Andrew needs to move on- whether it be in Roswell or elsewhere.
As for the “sarcasm” comment, it was merely because you repeatedly stated how easy it is. Maybe you could help Mr. Wordes? But you don’t care…so why take offense?
I’m not going to go tit for tat but your use of sarcasm and attempts to play the victim card FOR Mr. Wordes extracted sarcasm.
This case has long been evolving, and you’re right, it includes A LOT of people and a lot of actions that aren’t right. The efforts of this blog and the publicity that stem from it are not to say “Poor Andrew” because he did not fulfill his duties, but rather to draw attention to the actions taking by the city (their attempt to turn his property into green space without his consent, placing liens on his property, contacting his mortgage broker, and things of the like). The mortgage, the jail time (with the exclusion of the extended sentence) are just facts surrounding a bigger issue. The fact of the matter is that the City of Roswell could have handled things MUCH differently, but chose not to. And unfortunately, a lot has happened because people over trust their government, turn a blind eye or simply don’t care.
Melissa,
Fulton County has at least a month backlog on filing deeds so that CAN’T tell me the status of the house. If you will read the blog from the beginning yu will see I have won in court numerous times only to have Roswell retaliate in illegal ways. If you lived in Roswell you would be more aware of all of the problems our city has, and I AM NOT ONE OF THEM. I have just been fighting for what is legally mine as stated in our Constitution.
My house and yard were always well kept until Roswell’s lack of maintaining there storm water destroyed my house, vehicles and property. The City ADMITS that my prom;em is due to stormwater runoff they have not controlled.
This is more about propety rights and a city that has an OUT OF CONTROL City Manager and Police Chief and City Attorneys who answer to her.
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If Melissa really believes the only people who get foreclosed on are the ones who “deserve” it, she either works for the bank or hasn’t followed the news in recent years.
I mean, if she’s really concerned about the “rule of law” and “personal responsibility”, it seems to me that she might (if she troubled to take the time to actually find out the details) come to understand that the government is not always in the right and that Wordes was being needlessly persecuted. RIP Andrew
I added gloss