Oklahoma town risks falling into old mines

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, February 15, 2006

PICHER, Okla. – Workers on Wednesday finished fencing off a city park, the latest chunk of this town that has been lost to collapsing underground mines.

About 30 percent of Picher and nearby Cardin, including homes, roads, churches and playgrounds, was built on top of old mining caverns that could collapse at any time, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers discovered in a recent study.

Since the warnings came out, school buses have been rerouted to stay off roads that may be in danger of collapsing, including U.S. 69, the main thoroughfare through town.

At Picher-Cardin School, which has about 350 students in grades K-12, workers have been disassembling basketball goals, swing sets and other equipment at a playground that opened last summer.

The former lead and zinc mining area in the far northeast corner of the state has been on the Superfund list for more than two decades, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report released two weeks ago shows that the old mining caverns pose an even greater danger than residents realized.

“Obviously, everyone is talking about it,” said Carolyn Elmore, Picher’s city clerk. “Do they go and start looking for another place to live? Do they wait it out? No one knows what tomorrow is going to bring.”

Some residents of Picher and Cardin, which have a combined population of about 1,800, want the government to buy their properties so they can move. About 50 families took advantage of a state buyout that was limited to families with children under age 6.

Gov. Brad Henry has said that paying for relocation is ultimately the federal government’s responsibility. But Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., has said the state should chip in.

While politicians debate money, school superintendent Bob Walker is unsure if the school will even be able to open in the fall.

“We’re really in limbo,” Walker said. “Frustrated is the best word I can come up with.”