Man raises concern about open wells

By Michael Glover

Herald-Tribune

HIATTVILLE -- Once again a Hiattville resident has contacted a government agency for what he said are dangerous structures in his neighbor's yard.

Gary Skinner wrote a letter to Kansas Department of Health and Environment on June 26, claiming his neighbors, Stephen and Phyllis Plaster, have five open wells scattered on pasture land behind their house.

The wells are not covered but should be, since they are a safety hazard to the community, Skinner said. He took pictures and detailed the condition of the wells, then sent the letter to KDHE.

"This needs to be taken care of. These wells are dangerous and need to be covered up," Skinner said.

The wells, some which Skinner estimates to be around 100 years old, are collapsing and need to be checked to see if they are contaminated, he said. One well contains debris such as cans, tires and bottles; and the sides appear to be collapsing under the open top.

Skinner leases the land on which the wells are located from the Plasters and says he noticed the structures while driving a tractor over the land, at about this time last year. He built fences around some of the wells before cattle were placed inside the pasture.

The previous owner of the land told Skinner he was going to cover the wells. "He knew there was a problem," Skinner added.

This marks the second time that someone has contacted the government over alleged dangerous structures.

In May, Phyllis went to the Bourbon County Commission to ask that something be done about abandoned trailer homes in the town.

She said at the time the trailers were an eyesore and may be used as an outlet for criminal activity. The county sent letters to three residents who own trailers, encouraging them to voluntary clean up the area or remove the trailer home completely for "safety reasons."

Skinner denies using the wells for retaliatory purposes when Plaster contacted the county over the trailer homes. But Skinner added that he was angered after hearing that Phyllis "publicly humiliated my neighbors" when she went to commissioners over the abandoned trailers.

Richard Harper, geologist with KDHE, has seen the pictures and said the wells, in his opinion, pose an environmental and safety hazard. KDHE allowed Bourbon County to directly handle the issue in notifying the owners of the property about the wells.

Three of the five wells were determined by KDHE to be a safety and environmental hazard and must be covered or capped, Bourbon County Sanitarian Frank Shelton said. He issued a notice to the Plasters and they are expected to hire a contractor this weekend to cover the wells.

Stephen Plaster said he has owned the property for about 30 days and did not know the wells were there.

"We are going to fix them. It is our intent to get them covered as soon as we can," Stephen Plaster said. He called The Fort Scott Tribune June 30 to explain his position on the issue.

Stephen also said he has spoken to Skinner and that he hopes any animosity toward him or other neighbors can end.

"We don't want to cause any problems. We need to be neighbors and we want to be friends and don't have any animosity toward Gary or anyone else."