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Spring Hill maws bring awe, caution
By JAMIE JONES, Times Staff Writer SPRING HILL -- Annette Doying walked across a moist yard Wednesday, wearing a blue jumpsuit and black boots, her hair in two blond braids. She bent over and examined a hole surrounded by barbed wire. "It's beautifully crafted, the classic sinkhole," Doying, a county Emergency Management officer, said as she tiptoed around it. She spent Wednesday morning with John Burnett of the County Engineer's Office surveying sinkholes in Spring Hill. They examined the holes for growth and took digital photographs for comparisons. They also wrapped yellow tape around new sunken areas and warned neighbors to stay away from them. "No one has ever died in Hernando County from a sinkhole," Doying said. "There is always a first time. . . . We want people to be careful." Sinkholes began opening last weekend during heavy rains. So far, they appear to be concentrated around three drainage retention areas owned by the county and on four pieces of private property. Two of the drainage areas are off Mariner Boulevard and one is off Amidon Street. The four homes with sinkholes are on Marysville Street, Maguire Avenue, Beach Road and Lake Forest Avenue, Doying said. She could not give an exact number of sinkholes because they are changing and collapsing. Some of the holes are large -- 20 feet by 20 feet -- and others are just several feet in diameter and depth. Emergency Management officers continue getting calls from residents worried about possible sinkholes in their yards. Doying said she checked out seven calls Wednesday but found only buried tree stumps or minor cracking in concrete. She will continue monitoring the holes through the week. County workers said they must wait for the holes to stabilize before they patch the land. The county Public Works Department will get assistance from an Orlando engineering firm to determine what should be done with the holes. Public Works Director Charles Mixson said work would begin next week, at the earliest, if the sinkholes stabilize. The Southwest Florida Water Management District also has been surveying the sites and will advise the county on how to properly repair the land so that the drainage retention ponds function properly and the underground aquifers are not harmed.
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From today's Hernando Times Editorial Letters |
