They have each other, but little else

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

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The couple has been married 60 years.

Seventy-eight-year old Joyce Bates and 82-year-old Arthur Bates lost their home in the Sunset Palms Mobile Home Park in Pinellas Park two weeks ago when it caught fire.

Arthur heard the noise and woke his wife up.

"That was the best thing of all in this whole thing," said Arthur Bates. "I got her out of it."

However, they didn't get much else out and unfortunately, the couple living off Social Security and a veteran's pension didn't have insurance. Even the clothes they are wearing were donated by people who heard about their situation.

"Pictures, dad's awards from the war, every memory is in there and it's hard to tell them the future is going to be brighter when the past isn't here anymore," said the couple's daughter, Linda Bair.

The Bates own the mobile home, but not the land, and they must pay rent as long as the structure is there, and they can't afford to move it.

"We've made phone calls and everyone wants five thousand or fifty-one hundred to remove it and with them on fixed income and no insurance, there's no way to get that done," said Bair.

The Bates, who have been married for 60 years, are now staying with family until they can figure out how to pay for the burned structure to be removed. Eventually, they hope to get another place.

Click here for another image of the burned-out structure.

"I don't have many years left, but I'd like to live them," said Joyce Bates.

A manager from the mobile home park says it's the park's policy to continue to charge rent whether the home on the property is livable or not. She says any exceptions could only be made by the board of directors.

The Bates are also working with numerous utility companies that are still demanding payment.