Sewage backup from sinkhole has city resident at wits’ end

By DAVID SKOLNICK

skolnick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Of the dozen or so residents on Whitney Avenue that 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.”

The city has already paid to replace his hot water heater and furnace, and Kalosky said the new hot water heater, less than a week old, is damaged and will be replaced.

Because of the back up, 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. I understand they’re trying, but that’s not good enough.”

A large sinkhole on Mahoning Avenue, by McKinley and Whitney avenues, occurred two weeks ago after water and sewer lines collapsed. The street has been closed since then as a company hired by the city works 16-hour days to make needed repairs.

The work should be done and the street reopened in about a week, said Charles Shasho, deputy director of the city’s public works department.

Kalosky’s house is getting the back up because a sewer pump has been unable to properly drain in that area, Shasho said.

“I feel for the guy and we’re trying to get through this,” he said. “We’ll make this right and clean it up. We are working our hardest to resolve this. It’s not an easy situation.”

But Kalosky’s patience has worn thin.

“I think the problems are done and then the basement is flooded again,” he said. “I wouldn’t have needed surgery if I didn’t fall on sewage. It’s been a nightmare since it started. I had four feet of water and sewage in my basement.”

John Kalosky, his brother, said, “I thought it was OK last week and now we’re back to step one. This house has been in our family for 100 years. There’s damage to the basement and cinder blocks. This is not going away.”