By Lee Rood, lrood@dmreg.com

A dying Iowa woman who was stripped of her Social Security disability payments says she's gotten a swift response from government officials and strangers since her troubles were featured in the Reader's Watchdog on April 5.

Kris Gerhard, 45, of Yale said she got a call from U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley's office immediately after the column promising to look into her case. Not long afterward, she got another call from Patrick Arens, operational supervisor at the Social Security office in Carroll, promising swift action.

Reader's Watchdog: Dying advocate needs some help

"He said 'I've just taken over the Carroll office, and your file is my main concern,' " Gerhard said.

Arens said he couldn't comment on the case because of privacy laws, but he confirmed he was working on the case.

Gerhard said she was told by an SSDI worker in Carroll that she could continue to work in her job as a much-needed court-appointed mental health advocate while on disability — provided she didn't make more than $1,019 a month.

But last year, a different worker put a stop to those checks, contending she had been overpaid by more than $10,600. Gerhard said she never made over the monthly allowance and immediately asked for a review of that decision, which went nowhere.

She contacted the Watchdog after going so long without income or disability payments that she fell behind on her bills and her mortgage. She has been told she has less than six months to live, but she now risks foreclosure.

Gerhard said she reached out to the newspaper only because she had run out of others to turn to, and she wanted to get the word out. "But the first day afterward, there was $200 cash in my P.O. box with a note that said, 'Sorry for what you've been through.' The next day, there was $100. I just bawled. I didn't expect that."

Several readers also wrote the Watchdog, asking how they could help the longtime advocate who had taken in foster kids, started programs for kids with autism and helped teams of people with disabilities. As a result, friends of Gerhard's revived a fund at Greater Iowa Credit Union in Ames to help pay her bills.

Those who want to donate can send checks in care of the Friends of Kris Gerhard Fund to the credit union at P.O. Box 665, Ames, IA 50010. Gerhard said she was told such one-time donations do affect Social Security payments but not Social Security disability.

Gerhard said she hopes Iowa politicians recognize that she would not be in her current situation had Gov. Terry Branstad not vetoed legislation last year that made clear that mental health advocates were state employees, allowing them to get vacation, sick leave and long-term disability.

"Maybe when (similar legislation) comes back they will do something," she said.

A district judge last week cleared the way for the Clarke County Reservoir Commission to use eminent domain to take farmland to build a new drinking-water source in southern Iowa.

Judge Sherman Phipps ruled a proposed lake project near Osceola does meet the definition of "public use" under the Iowa Code.

The decision is the first major court ruling in favor of a government entity since the Legislature tried to tighten Iowa's eminent domain law more in favor of property owners in 2006. The controversial legislation, which was vetoed by Gov. Tom Vilsack and then overridden by lawmakers, allowed land to be condemned for drinking water projects, but not for recreation alone.

Doug Robins of Murray, one of the property owners involved in the legal case, contacted the Reader's Watchdog last month wanting to know if officials would acknowledge whether the reservoir would be used for recreation. Robins and other neighbors contended the commission was taking more land than allowed by law to create an attraction that would boost the area's economy.

Osceola Mayor Fred Diehl said the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is likely to allow recreation. "But if (landowners) think we're building this for recreation, they're crazy. I know in my heart we're going to need this water."

Robins said he and other landowners were still reviewing the decision to see if they would appeal.

More than 15 years in the making, the Squaw Creek Watershed project would make up to 2.2 million gallons of water a day available for Osceola and members of the Southern Iowa Rural Water Association, which serves residents in 14 counties. The plan would create a reservoir over 816 acres. But to build the new water source, the commission will have to buy or take about 2,040 acres of private land from 58 owners.

A water budget analysis by the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service found that West Lake, the current water source for the area, can yield about 800,000 gallons a day. The new reservoir would provide the remaining amount to fill a projected need of 3 million gallons a day by 2035.

Perry Whitmore learned a tough lesson last week after renting a south-side Des Moines storage unit.

The 73-year-old leased a stall from Town & Country Mini Storage, 913 S.E. 14th St., but discovered on a visit there April 4 that most of the contents had been stolen.

Whitmore said he felt comfortable leaving some of his prized possessions in the unit because signs said there were security cameras on the property and he had a good lock. But he learned only after the theft that the cameras weren't working, so police couldn't do much about investigating.

"To me that's very deceiving," he said. "Had I known there weren't cameras, I wouldn't have signed a contract."

Whitmore says he lost dishes, silverware, a treadmill, bicycle, a stereo and turntable, floor jacks, tools, Christmas decorations and furniture.

I visited Town & Country last week. The manager acknowledged the cameras weren't working but admitted no liability. He pointed me to a clause in the leasing contract that said: "Operator shall not be liable for personal injuries, death, property damage, or loss from theft, vandalism, mysterious disappearance, rodents, fire, water, tornado, rain, explosion or any other causes whatsoever."

The moral of the story: Always buy renters insurance, friends.

Lee Rood's Reader's Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Contact her at lrood@dmreg.com or 515-284-8549. To read past columns, go to desmoinesregister.com/readerswatchdog.