A tale of two cities
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"If this situation sat within 50 miles of Topeka, Lawrence, Manhattan or Kansas City, this problem would have been taken care of immediately. Here, you are so far away, nobody knows about you."
-75-year-old Treece resident Bob Shoemaker
Mickey Morang and his mother lost their business and living quarters to a ground cave in caused by undermining in Galena, Ks. Morang, who operated the the downtown bar Green Parrot with his mother, has since moved to Baxter Springs where he is unemployed. "We don't have the money to take it down, and the city doesn't either," said Morang of the condemned building.
Ryan Woodcock, a two-years-old Treece resident, tested for high levels of lead in his blood. Soon after, the Environmental Protection Agency removed loads of soil surrounding the Woodcock residence.
Randy Barr, from Treece, Ks., has health problems that he thinks are a result of working in the chat piles in Picher, Ok. Chat is left-over mining waste rock that contains lead, zinc and cadmium contaminants.
A dog races around a giant sinkhole filled with water on the Woodcock farm north of Treece, Ks. Rodney Woodcock has had three horses die from lead and zinc poisoning in recent years.
Mickey Center, an environmental scientist with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Surface Mining Section, walks through what locals refer to as "Hell's Half Acre." The land, located just east of Galena's downtown, is literally sinking and is deemed too risky to redevelop.
Haden Woodcock, three years-old, tested as a ten for lead levels in his blood. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment considers anything above five as something to be concerned about and ten and above is lead poisoning.
Rodney Woodcock says he has lost three horses to lead and zinc poisoning from drinking the groundwater.
Longtime Treece resident Bob Shoemaker, 75, remembers when there were grocery stores, a school, and a movie theater in the mining town. But when the mining industry dried up in the area, so did the jobs, and only 144 people call Treece home today according to the 2005 census.
During the summer months, kids flock to this sinkhole filled with water north of Treece, Kan., and rope swing off the tree at upper left. Health officials worry about the long-term effects of exposure to the water filling these abandoned mines.
Bill Blunk, the mayor of Treece, is concerned that when Picher, Ok. shuts down it will effectively signal the end of Treece. Treece relies on many services from Picher, which is located just across the Kansas-Oklahoma state line.
Some of the homes in Picher, Ok. that sit vacant will soon be demolished by U.S. Department of Interior.
Vegetation overtakes a shed outside Picher, Ok.
The Woodcock brothers, Ryan, left, two years-old, and Haden, three years-old, both tested high for lead levels in their blood. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment considers anything above five as something to be concerned about and ten and above is lead poisoning. Haden, who was born with a clubfoot, a birth defect, tested the highest with a rating of ten.
Ryan Woodcock, two-years-old, and his father, Rodney, live on undermined property. Ryan tested high for lead levels in his blood.
The town of Picher, Ok. sits nestled between mountains of chat, a local term for mining waste that contains lead, zinc and cadmium contaminants. The piles are less than 10-percent of their original size, just like the population of Picher, which once exceeded 30,000 people.
Empty storefronts and a mountain of chat loom in the background as Justin Nelson talks on his cell phone while walking down a street in Picher, Ok.
Mining’s Legacy
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Geologist Jim McCauley
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"A bad way to make a living"
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Former miner Walter Wettstein
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A landscape transformed
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Dave Drake, EPA project manager
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A tale of two cities
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Picher resident Jon Finn
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River City Weekly