Jackson resident discovers sinkhole in yard, seeks solution after being denied help
JACKSON, Tenn. — One Jackson resident is searching for a solution to a recent problem in her yard.
Silver Thurston discovered a small hole in her backyard in early April. That small hole has now tripled in size and depth, causing it to become a sink hole.
“It was just a small hole. I noticed a small hole and when I got to looking at it, and my Yorkie went down in there, we realized it was 4 feet deep. Like a whole shovel pole can go down there, my 12-year-old son can fit down there,” said Thurston.
After the heavy rain fall from early April’s storm, Thurston was cleaning debris and noticed that the hole was filled with water. For a month now she has contacted different city departments and city councilmen for clarification.
“So I went to the planning department, the engineering department, the storm water department, and nobody can fix it. The city says they’re not responsible for it, the individual can’t fix it because it’s city infrastructure. I just want it fixed,” said Thurston.
She has concerns that her children and grandchildren will ultimately end up hurt from this sink hole.
“I want my kids safe. I’m worried about the pool caving in, I can’t let the kids [out] because that tunnel is like right up under here probably,” said Thurston.
She has lived at this location since 2018 and has since added a fence and pool to her property. Neither company flagged her yard.
“When they came out to spray for ‘areas not to dig at’ or where stuff was at under this property, it was way over there by the road like their gas line and a septic line. They didn’t say nothing about this yard having anything under it,” said Thurston.
She also reviewed her deed to see if there was a problem. Tuesday she was given a map that showed an estimate of how long and wide the land may be.
“All that water that comes off of Whitehall and East Deadrick street comes right here. It’s flowing like a river up under this yard,” said Thurston.
After receiving a ‘no’ from the city departments, she reached out to private companies who gave her a response.
“These individual companies are telling me that it’s against their policies because it’s city infrastructure. I guess the city can sue them if they come and don’t fix it correctly. But the city can’t fix it either,” said Thurston.
Thurston is just wanting a solution on how to protect her loved ones.
“My hands are tied. My animals are in danger, my kids are in danger,” said Thurston.
The sink hole has now impacted her neighbors backyard.
For more news in the Jackson area, click here.
