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Updated: 10:39 AM Aug 10, 2009
Sinking Backyard is Nightmare for Barboursville Family
Backyards are a place for summertime cookouts, playing and making memories, but for one family in Barboursville, their backyard has turned into a nightmare.
Posted: 11:48 PM Aug 9, 2009Reporter: Amanda Goodman Email Address: amanda.goodman@wsaz.com |
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20 Comments 
BARBOURSVILLE, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- With its well manicured lawn and pristine exterior, Jason and Mandy Black’s home looks picture perfect.
However, if you take a walk in the backyard, you will notice a serious problem because their yard is sinking.
“It actually started back in May with the hole on the other side of the fence, then around July it started getting pretty close and then a few rainstorms is all it took to go ahead and take the yard and the fence,” said Jason Black.
The Blacks believe the gaping hole swallowing their yard stems from a drainage pipe. Though now exposed, the pipe was at one point completely covered up.
“The drain has obviously been washing in on itself for quite some time,” said Mandy Black.
Adding insult to injury, just last week, a tree snapped. The only thing between it and the house was a shed.
“I was actually in this building (the shed) seven days ago to get a lawn mower out and you can see the building has moved maybe five or six inches now, leaning toward the house," said Mandy Black.
The Blacks say the tree was most likely uprooted as the land around it washed away. Here’s the dilemma: the drain and the tree are both located on someone else’s property. So now, the Blacks are caught in the middle of an insurance nightmare.
“It seems like it’s an open and closed thing you know. It’s not our property. The person who is the owner of the property should take care of it. It shouldn’t be long and drawn out,” Mandy said.
The Blacks have filed a claim with their insurance company to get the tree cut down. Even with insurance footing most of the bill, they still have a $1,000 deductible to pay.
In the meantime, the Blacks along with their two-year-old daughter Lexi are staying with family. They say between the tree possibly falling on their roof and the 20 foot drop-off in their backyard, their home is just not safe.
“We need everything to be taken care of so we can move back in our house so we can move on with our lives,” Mandy said.
They are hoping to get the tree cut down sometime in the next week. As for the hole, they have contacted the owner of the property the drain sits on, but have not been able to resolve the issue. We did try to contact that property owner, but were unable to reach him.
The Blacks say they plan to hire a lawyer to help them figure out where they go from here.
WSAZ staff tried to contact the property owner Sunday afternoon, but were unable to reach him.
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Latest Comments
The property owner is J. Roger Smith (senior).
Mr. Worrell, I believe I may know who you're speaking of. And it's a shame too. Mayor Turman has bought the town right from under the citizens, and has bought the Police Department. I wish WSAZ would expose the property owner. But the fact that the city just sits back and turns a blind eye to it kind of tells the tale on itself. Elizabeth, the reason the community doesn't help is because Barboursville isn't a community. It's just a collection of people who just happen to live next to each other. That's what happens when the town elects an idiot mayor every year. Either that or some serious vote rigging is going on. I'll go for the latter.
The backyard eroded quite a bit more last night, and the fence finally fell down into the hole. Thankfully the insurance paid for the tree to be cut down today (less our deductible), so now we just need to get the hole taken care of! Any help is appreciated!
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