Family fed up with sewage issues on their property
Family fed up over sewage in their yard
Raymur Sicklesmith first noticed something was wrong about a year and a half ago. He was cutting the grass when his mower got stuck.
“I noticed toilet toilet paper and human feces everywhere and the smell is bad,” said Sicklesmith, who was hospital-bound from December to February, and has been recovering ever since.
Since them the Sicklemsith family hasn’t been able to escape the pungent odor—something they chalk up to an issue with the sewer line that runs through their property, but that they are not tapped into.
“I had my bed over here at one point, but you could smell it, and I can’t have my bed over here by this window,” said Tracy Sicklesmith, referencing how close their bedroom of the house is to the sewage pile.
The Sicklesmiths have chalked it up to a sewage line that runs through their property, but that they aren’t tied into. They tell 21 News they’ve exhausted about every option, and that all roads have funneled them to the Columbiana County Health Department, but haven’t had much success in getting in contact with them.
“I kept calling, calling, and calling, and nothing,” she emphasized.
For the Sicklesmith family, it’s gotten to the point of taking matters into their own hands.
“My son and I came out here with two shovels and dug all this up because nobody else wanted to”, said Sicklesmith, alluding to the sewage pit which they dug into to try and find the root of the issue, but to no avail.
“We’re just so fed up with the runaround; all we’re asking is to have this fixed so I can have my yard back,” said Raymur Sicklesmith.
Laura Fauss, the environmental health director for the Columbiana County Health Department, says four people are on that sewer line, and that the issue was tended to by the homeowners on that line in April, but were called back out in May after issues persisted. A notice was sent to those owners on May 18th, and they will have 30 days from that date to rectify the problem.