{"id":13864,"date":"2015-08-06T12:02:16","date_gmt":"2015-08-06T16:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=13864"},"modified":"2015-08-10T06:17:46","modified_gmt":"2015-08-10T10:17:46","slug":"county-and-news-media-digging-deeper-on-shiloh-sinkhole-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2015\/08\/county-and-news-media-digging-deeper-on-shiloh-sinkhole-story.html","title":{"rendered":"County and news media digging deeper on Shiloh sinkhole story"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\nWill nearby buildings fall into this 120-foot sinkhole?\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nWill Shiloh Road have to be moved like Snake Nation Road was?\r\nWhat about sinkhole insurance?\r\nIf there are “fault lines” causing sinkholes heading westwards in Lowndes County,\r\nwouldn’t they cross the proposed path of the Sabal Trail fracked methane pipeline?\r\nWhat will Lowndes County do if that thing goes in and a sinkhole opens under it?\r\nWhat if Sabal Trail declares such a sinkhole force majeure and doesn’t pay?\r\n

\r\nMore on\r\n\r\nthe usual detour on Shiloh Road<\/a>.\r\nJoe Adgie, VDT, 6 August 2015,\r\n\r\nSinkhole threat to Shiloh Road<\/a>,\r\n\r\n\r\n

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\r\n“The engineering staff will have to wait for there to be a\r\nperiod of inactivity,” said Lowndes County Clerk Paige Dukes.\r\n“We’ll bring in geologists to do sonar on the roadway and the\r\nright-of-way next to the roadway to make sure the road bed is not\r\naffected before we can reopen.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nMaybe that\r\n\r\nLiDAR Valdosta is organizing<\/a> could be useful.\r\nHm, maybe the county should be more proactive about that.\r\n

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\r\nDukes said the activity of the sinkhole is ongoing and must be\r\nwatched.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nWhat about the one\r\n\r\nunder a garage<\/a> that Lowndes County paid no attention to back in 2012?\r\nHas anybody been following that one?\r\n

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\r\n“None of the structures right now seem to be close enough to\r\nthe activity for there to be a problem,” Dukes said.\r\n“Right now, it looks like the activity is moving closer to the\r\nroad, versus any homes.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nThe story later mentions the sinkhole under Snake Nation Road\r\nthat the county initially tried to fill in, then had to\r\n\r\npay extra for a change order to reroute the road<\/a>\r\nto the tune of about half a million dollars total, if I remember correctly.\r\n

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\r\nDukes said county officials are concerned about the sinkhole, as no\r\ninsurance is available to protect against sinkholes.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nShe asserted that opinion as fact, but Home Insurance Georgia<\/a> says otherwise:\r\n

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\r\nBe proactive. All Georgia homeowners should review their insurance\r\npolicy to make sure their coverage is adequate. If you are not sure\r\nthen call your local insurance agent.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nYou might be surprised to learn that most standard Georgia policies\r\ndo not cover them.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nBecause of the difference in definition between a sinkhole and\r\ncatastrophic ground cover collapse, you could technically have a\r\nsinkhole in your home and not be covered by your homeowner’s policy.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nLocally, I just confirmed that Farm Bureau\r\nhas a new homeowner policy that has an option to cover sinkholes.\r\n

\r\nSo “no insurance is available to protect against sinkholes”\r\nis right up there with\r\n“Georgia law prevents County governments from using property tax dollars to pay for waste services”<\/a>\r\nand\r\ntrash dumping will be vigorously prosecuted<\/a>.\r\n

\r\nOh, and Home Insurance Georgia cites as example\r\n\r\nthat same Lowndes County garage sinkhole<\/a>.\r\nLowndes County, famous for sinkholes!\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nThe more sinkholes that occur here without proactive measures\r\ntaken by local governments, the more notorious Lowndes County will be.\r\n

\r\nSorry, did I say “will be”?\r\nMore like is already notorious.\r\n

\r\nWinnie Wright, WCTV, 5 August 2015,\r\n\r\n150-Foot Sinkhole Opens in Lowndes County Residential Area<\/a>,\r\n

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