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Sinkhole Saga in Northumberland

NORTHUMBERLAND, Pa. — Some homeowners in Northumberland are tired of dealing with sinkholes. Peggy and Terry Walker have lived on Priestly Avenue in North...

NORTHUMBERLAND, Pa. -- Some homeowners in Northumberland are tired of dealing with sinkholes.

Peggy and Terry Walker have lived on Priestly Avenue in Northumberland for almost 25 years. They like their quiet neighborhood, but there is something they don't like, and it's in their yard.

"This hole here has been here since last May, so it's been almost one year," Peggy Walker said.

The sinkhole is now large enough to fit a full-size car, and it's still growing.

"I lost my tractor in it once, one of the small holes. I pulled it out with my pickup truck," Terry Walker said.

The Walkers say the hole in their yard opened up years ago when an underground pipe collapsed. Since then, other sinkholes have formed around it.

"We're worried that children or a pet could fall into one of the pipes, and they would not be able to get out. It's deep," Peggy said.

"I'm afraid someone's going to get hurt in it. I don't know who is responsible for it, but we're not," Terry said.

The Walkers tell Newswatch 16 the borough has filled in the holes several times, only to have them open up again.

"DEP came, an engineer came, the borough, the street people," Peggy said.

Officials in Northumberland tell Newswatch 16 they are not sure who installed or paid for the pipe, but they are trying to find out.

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