WAUSEON, Ohio — The mother of a disabled 4-year-old is making a cry for help regarding a dumpster on her property, which she says is crucial for her daughter's medical needs.
However, she says she's meeting resistance at every turn.
On a quiet street in Wauseon, Jennifer Weiland is settling in. She moved here in September with her kids, including 4-year-old Erika, who suffered an anoxic brain injury years ago.
"She has a feeding tube that goes into her stomach," Weiland explained. "She gets all her food from the bags. With her ventilator, she has water bags that hang up to give her a humidifier so she doesn't dry out."
Erika now requires 24-7 care, which means a lot of medical supplies.
"When you walked in, those are her monthly deliveries that come in boxes. That's in addition to - I have two other children - a normal household with garbage," Weiland said.
So Weiland ordered a private dumpster to dispose of her trash. It's not hazardous medical waste, there's just a lot of it.
But just months after moving in, she received notices in the mail.
"They were telling me that I wasn't allowed to have a residential dumpster within city limits and that only businesses are allowed to have dumpsters within city limits in Wauseon," she said.
But it appears that may not be true.
The letter Weiland received cited a specific ordinance including language about dumpsters.
But WTOL 11 reviewed the law. Dumpsters are never mentioned.
"We received a complaint," said Keith Torbet, public service director for the city of Wauseon. "We have to... the law is spelled out specific. If there isn't a variance issued, it's in violation and we have to follow it."
"I said, 'Well, you're looking at a minimum of 14 bags a week and probably a half-dozen trash cans between her waste and the household waste.' With my disability and walking with a cane, that's not something feasible for me to do," Weiland said.
Weiland filed an appeal with the city and a panel will decide her fate later this month.
"We've done just about everything that we can at this point in time," Torbet said. "If she gets the variance, as long as she follows the code, we have no problem with it."
The zoning meeting to hear Weiland's appeal is scheduled for March 23.