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St. Louis County residents forced to vacate after neglecting dangerous sewage systems

Published

2 years ago

June 25, 2023

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ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – For months, residents who live on and around Sontag Road have been dealing with an unsafe sewage system. Now, St. Louis County has issued an order to vacate. Residents have days before officials will take more action.

The unmaintained sewage system is a major concern, as it sits next to many residents and several local waterways. Last week, nothing was blocking the big hole of raw sewage. A concern residents have, especially with children in the neighborhood. On Friday, nearly a week after FOX 2 first reported the problem, stakes and lots of yellow tapes surrounded the eight-by-eight hole.

David Wrone, the public information manager for the St. Louis County Public Works Department, said they were shocked to see what the site looked like just days ago.

“Anytime you’ve got open air and human waste on-site…. That is obviously about as serious as you can get,” Wrone said.

It’s a realization the Public Properties Division said they discovered days ago. However, according to long-time resident Bill Cochran, who lives right next to the sewage, this situation was a “classic case of them passing a buck.”

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Cochran said he issued his first complaint to the department nearly a year ago. County Councilman Mark Harder, who has been pushing for something to be done, said the problem stems beyond just this property.

“We have a large problem with problem properties throughout the county,” Harder said.

According to Wrone, “We receive a fair number of complaints.”

As of right now, they’re dealing with about 1,200 filed complaints. Wrone said they have only two teams of two people, which is currently the size of the problem properties department.

The complaints ranged from a variety of issues.

“You’ve got derelict vehicles. Trash strewn all over the front yard, overgrown grass, collapsing gutters,” Wrone said.

“To help the county allocated money to its budget, we’ve increased their budget, we’ve increased their staff, we’ve created designated lawyers,” Harder said.

He said it could take time for them to completely budget the funds and find an efficient system that allows them to handle situations.

“I’m very surprised that they did not take a more aggressive stance on this as it developed,” Harder said.

When they did act, it was a brief time before a notice was posted on the property, ordering those who live there to vacate immediately. It comes after the property was found to be violating several health and safety standards.

“The owner is gonna either have to repair the septic system or we’re gonna do it ourselves,” Wrone said.

They have told Cochran, “Seven days to get that thing pumped out.” If they don’t, then the county will step in and clear the waste.

“We need to act on things before they get too big,” Harder said.

Wrone said when it comes to ownership of the property, it’s now in the hands of the attorney’s office to decide.

Cochran said he is just happy that after months, it has finally been taken care of.

“I think we made some noise,” he said.

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Man attacks Jeff Co. deputy with screwdriver during attempted arrest

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – Two people are behind bars after a man reportedly attacked a Jefferson County deputy with a screwdriver during an attempted arrest over the weekend.

Prosecutors have charged Nicholas Davis, 47, and Amanda Davis, 45, of Dittmer, Missouri, with felonies in the investigation.

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The alleged attack followed a traffic stop of a driver in the 9500 block of Jones Creek Road on July 7, though the driver was not Nicholas or Amanda.

According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Nicholas reportedly came out of his nearby home, yelled at a deputy and started approaching him while holding a screwdriver. The deputy initially ordered Nicholas to back away, then used pepper spray.

Per court documents, the deputy attempted to arrest Nicholas, who then struck him in the chest with the screwdriver. Amanda reportedly approached the deputy and pulled him away from Nicholas before both ran inside their home.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says the situation prompted an hours-long standoff involving negotiators, a SWAT team and a K-9 deputy. The situation led to Nicholas refusing warnings and being bitten by a K-9.

Nicholas and Amanda are both jailed in the Jefferson County Jail without bond. Nicholas is charged with first-degree assault on a special victim and armed criminal action. Amanda is charged with resisting/interfering with arrest.

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St. Louis Public Schools superintendent to be sworn in

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS — The new St. Louis schools superintendent will be officially sworn into office today. Dr. Keisha Scarlett took over the job in July after the retirement of Dr. Kelvin Adams. She was assistant superintendent in the Seattle Public School District. The installation ceremony is at 6:15 p.m. before the regular school board meeting.

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Gas tanker crashes into St. Louis Metro transit center

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

Natural Bridge

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ST. LOUIS — A gasoline tanker truck crashed into a Metro transit center near Riverview and Hall Streets early Tuesday morning and knocked over a power pole. The pole is leaning on other power lines. Police have the area blocked off here because there is a downed power line. Ameren and Metro crews are also on the scene.

The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. It’s still unclear exactly what caused the crash, but we do that there was a second vehicle somehow involved. The airbags on that second vehicle did deploy.

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Police at the scene have not been able to give us a lot of details. Metro officials tell FOX 2 that the transit center here is operating this morning for passengers and buses. Access to certain areas will be limited here as clean up unfolds.

A Metro spokesperson says half of the station isn’t being used right now because of safety issues. It isn’t impacting overall bus operations, everything is just happening on the other side of transit center.

The extent of the damage to the actual transit center is still unclear, but I’m told it does not appear to be extreme. A Metro spokesperson tells me there were no injuries to any metro workers or passengers. The tanker driver also was not injured.

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