A shared story, as told by Bobby Bennett, to My Palmetto News:
In his day job, Bobby Bennett writes articles and produces videos that showcase the attention to detail involved in drag racing. He wishes Spartanburg County’s officials would give the same kind of effort to those they are elected to serve.
Bennett grimaces when he sees rain at the race track, and for the last year or so, he’s done the same thing at his home in the eastern part of Spartanburg.
“I promise you if this were an issue in an elected official’s neighborhood, a crew would be working on it immediately,” Bennett said. “But it’s just me, an average citizen, so it’s my fault.”
Ironically, Bennett pointed out that he had taken his gripe on Spartanburg County officials, only to be pushed from one office to another. He said he did get referred to the Spartanburg County Storm Water Department but was told there was no appeasement for them to fix.
“That is absolutely not true,” Bennett contends. “There’s a small culvert under Claremont Circle that drains the water coming down from Pine Street and the whole neighborhood. It drains down a ditch in the middle of my property into a creek. How do you think it got there? I didn’t dig it, and neither did my father. The property owners before (family) didn’t either.”
So what caused all of the fuss and inevitably a sinkhole eating up his property and heading for a neighboring home?
“Spartanburg County neglecting to clean the ditch out that feeds the rainwater from South Pine caused the whole mess,” Bennett explained. “We had called them time and time again, and while they said they’d come out, they never did. We finally had to get out there with shovels and a wheelbarrow and spend a few days cleaning it out.”
Bennett said that with the single pipe feeding the runoff water, the whole neighborhood backed up, and the water would overflow the ditch to wash across the road and inevitably flood his neighbor’s yard as well. The flood waters, he added, flowed through the yard and ate away at the bottom of the ditch, feeding the creek.
Bennett continued “the issue not only affects him but will soon affect other utilities that are in the pathway of the rainwater runoff. There’s a utility pole that’s had a good portion of the dirt holding it up washed away.” Bennett added. “I guess when it falls over, it’s our problem, not theirs. The same thing with the sewer line at the end of the ditch. It’s probably got another foot to go before it’s exposed. Then we will be in a ration of crap.”
Bennett said for the last two years that, crews have been working on nearby Old Petrie Road, resurfacing the road, but it’s been the installation of new drainage measures on that road while neglecting his that has him scratching his head. Bennett said he’s grown tired of calling and trying to get someone to even come out and look at his plight that he’s taken his gripes to social media where he’s quickly developing an audience.
The most recent involves another section of the road, which he alleges has also been neglected by Spartanburg County, where there is no longer a ditch but instead property flush with the road, allowing the rushing water across his property and flooding out his shop. “It’s like you get one section fixed, and another gets you,” Bennett said. “We have one area where they put the underground pipe that is quickly washing out, and once that goes, you only have one other way out, and we purposely don’t drive down that section because you take your life into your own hands with the limited visibility pulling out into Pine Street.
“What’s it going to take for them to do what they are supposed to do? They say they don’t have permission to work on the property. I’m giving it to them. Really, I’m begging them. But should I have to beg?”
If you are interested in contacting Bobby, you may reach him via his Facebook page.
