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Sherwood Forest sinkhole damaging home, yard
BATON ROUGE - A woman says a sinkhole has been growing next to her home for years.
Stephenie Horton moved to her home in Sherwood Forest six years ago. It was then she first noticed she has a problem, but after calling the City-Parish not much was done to fix the issue.
Years went by and this past February she picked up potted plant and noticed a large hole underneath, just a few feet from the side of her house. She says the only reason the pot didn't fall into the ground is because of the growing vegetation on her property.
"I don't let my kids come on this side of the house because I'm worried that something really bad could happen," said Horton.
Shortly after finding the hole, Horton called the City-Parish 311 call center. In March, the City-Parish visited Horton's property and initially thought the issue was sewer-related. After performing a dye test the City-Parish found it's a storm drain leak and an orange fence was posted around the troubling area. Horton called 2 On Your Side because she's been waiting weeks for any further action to be taken.
"I'm worried that if we wait another six months even, it could be significantly worse," she said.
Right now, there's no telling exactly how big the sinkhole is because most of it is hidden by vegetation. Horton can guess the hole is at least six feet deep but does not know how wide it is.
Since reporting the issue to the City-Parish earlier this year, Horton says she's noticed changes to her home. Some of the tiles and floor boards on the one side of her house are popping up. The side entrance to the house is jammed shut and no longer opens. There's a large gap between the fence post and the fence gate and a good portion of the fence is sinking into the ground.
"It's not just worrying about the safety of my children, but the structural integrity of my house," she said.
The City-Parish says it's disappointed with how long it's taken to fix Horton's issue. It tells 2 On Your Side a crew will be visiting Horton's home Tuesday to take a closer look and hopefully arrive at a solution.
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