Repeated sewage backups strain city man's health, finances

YOUNGSTOWN

Of the dozen or so residents on Whitney Avenue who had sewage back up into their basements caused by a nearby sinkhole and sewer-line break, Edward Kalosky II’s home is among the worst.

Kalosky said sewage went into the basement of his house at 39 N. Whitney Ave. five times in the past two weeks. The most recent was Thursday.

“My basement’s been filled with tampons, poop and sewage,” he said. “I slipped on the sewage and had to have two surgeries because of the fall.”

The fall caused a Baclofen pump — which provides a muscle-relaxing drug to help control his spasmodic movements — inside him to stop working, Kalosky said.

“I’ve lost over $3,000 worth of stuff, can’t use my washer and dryer, and I’m breathing sewage because of this,” he said. “The sewage has stained my basement. This shouldn’t keep happening.”

Because of the backup, Kalosky has had his electricity and gas turned off and went days without hot water.

“I froze last week, and [the city] wouldn’t pay to have me stay somewhere,” he said. “I’m on a fixed income, and it’s been a two-week burden."

Read more about the problem in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.