Post by jonsdigs on Nov 16, 2006 0:04:27 GMT -5
November 12, 2006
Sinkholes undermine popular spot in Bucks village
Gas station a place to shop, gossip for six decades. Owner says it'll be safer if he closes.
By Charles Malinchak Special to The Morning Call
The voids in Bob Hill's life have nothing to do with him personally.
Then again, in a sense, they do.
The voids in question are two large sinkholes that opened in July next to the Springtown gasoline station Hill owns.
Hill, 48, has owned the Gulf gas station on Route 212 since 1988. Every day 60 to 70 cars fill up at the station just south of the Northampton County line, where patrons also drop in to pick up milk or eggs at the station's small grocery store.
The station has been a presence in the tiny Springfield Township village since it was opened in 1945 by Harold Grim, who called it Grim's Atlantic. Over the years, it has become one of the few unofficial spots in the village where neighbors meet, greet and pass along news and gossip.
But after the sinkholes opened on the road — prompting fears that more sinkholes in the area are imminent — the landmark may soon close.
Sinkholes usually occur in areas where the underlying geology is composed of limestone, which is inherently brittle. When a void develops beneath the limestone, it cracks and sometimes creates a hole on the surface.
Hill said he knows limestone is under Springtown and that sinkholes are a problem in the area. He also knows that if one opens under or near his 6,000-gallon underground gasoline tank, it could rupture and gas would quickly contaminate Cook's Creek, about 600 feet from the property, and a public drinking water well, about 1,100 feet away.
Hill said he can't afford to wait for such a catastrophe.
''The chance of a problem is too great for me too ignore, so I'm going to give up the gas and groceries,'' Hill said. ''We do daily leak checks, but even with that, if it ruptured, the damage would be done. It would too late and that's not a regret I could live with.''
Hill said he doesn't need a geologist to tell him a problem could occur, so he's seeking a change of use from the township Zoning Hearing Board. The move would let Hill eliminate the gas pumps and grocery store, and in its place allow for a used car lot and continued operation of his auto repair business, Village Center Automotive.
The gas and groceries have become a staple in the region, with a reliable clientele and in a location where the nearest other gas station or grocery store is either in Hellertown, Pleasant Valley or Riegelsville.
''I haven't let it be known yet … but I'm sure my customers will miss it and I am reluctant to do it,'' Hill said.
But his plans are known by the Cook's Creek Watershed Association, the township Planning Commission and the supervisors, all of which have endorsed the move.
Township supervisors Chairman James Brownlow said he and the board were pleased with the decision and believe it was an appropriate one.
''It's the right thing to do. He's protecting the watershed, which is something near and dear to all of us,'' Brownlow said.
Springtown resident Joanne Waterman has been buying gas at the station at least once a week for the past 12 years. She wasn't aware of Hill's plan, but after learning of them, said it will create a major inconvenience.
She said the station also will be sorely missed since it's become a spot, along with the post office, where people see neighbors and talk about what's going in the village.
''This kind of makes it a community,'' Waterman said. ''I guess now we'll have to get it all at the post office.''
Former township Supervisor Pete Lamana has lived in Springtown for 55 years and believes the station is a fixture of the village.
''I think it will be a detriment,'' he said of the station's plans to close.
Hill never spoke to Grim, who retired to Florida after selling the station and died recently. But some of what went on in those post-World War II days were told to him by customers and residents.
''People told me he washed cars in the bays on Saturdays and there was a pinball machine in the office,'' Hill said. ''There was even a time when he sold Lawn Boy lawn mowers.''
The final say on what direction Hill takes lies with the zoning board, which will decide whether to grant the change of use on Nov. 20.
In the event the plan isn't approved, Hill said he would continue to conduct business as usual until he comes up with a new idea.
The more likely outcome is approval. If that happens, Hill said, ''I would shut the pumps and the store down two or three days later.''
That means by the end of November, a piece of Springtown that has been around for 61 years could move into the memory bank.
Hill realized the sentimentality of the station and repeated his reluctance to the change, but also felt he has no choice.
''If the creek is damaged and the well is damaged and I know I had the chance to do something before it happened, I'd rather correct it now.''
Article
Sinkholes undermine popular spot in Bucks village
Gas station a place to shop, gossip for six decades. Owner says it'll be safer if he closes.
By Charles Malinchak Special to The Morning Call
The voids in Bob Hill's life have nothing to do with him personally.
Then again, in a sense, they do.
The voids in question are two large sinkholes that opened in July next to the Springtown gasoline station Hill owns.
Hill, 48, has owned the Gulf gas station on Route 212 since 1988. Every day 60 to 70 cars fill up at the station just south of the Northampton County line, where patrons also drop in to pick up milk or eggs at the station's small grocery store.
The station has been a presence in the tiny Springfield Township village since it was opened in 1945 by Harold Grim, who called it Grim's Atlantic. Over the years, it has become one of the few unofficial spots in the village where neighbors meet, greet and pass along news and gossip.
But after the sinkholes opened on the road — prompting fears that more sinkholes in the area are imminent — the landmark may soon close.
Sinkholes usually occur in areas where the underlying geology is composed of limestone, which is inherently brittle. When a void develops beneath the limestone, it cracks and sometimes creates a hole on the surface.
Hill said he knows limestone is under Springtown and that sinkholes are a problem in the area. He also knows that if one opens under or near his 6,000-gallon underground gasoline tank, it could rupture and gas would quickly contaminate Cook's Creek, about 600 feet from the property, and a public drinking water well, about 1,100 feet away.
Hill said he can't afford to wait for such a catastrophe.
''The chance of a problem is too great for me too ignore, so I'm going to give up the gas and groceries,'' Hill said. ''We do daily leak checks, but even with that, if it ruptured, the damage would be done. It would too late and that's not a regret I could live with.''
Hill said he doesn't need a geologist to tell him a problem could occur, so he's seeking a change of use from the township Zoning Hearing Board. The move would let Hill eliminate the gas pumps and grocery store, and in its place allow for a used car lot and continued operation of his auto repair business, Village Center Automotive.
The gas and groceries have become a staple in the region, with a reliable clientele and in a location where the nearest other gas station or grocery store is either in Hellertown, Pleasant Valley or Riegelsville.
''I haven't let it be known yet … but I'm sure my customers will miss it and I am reluctant to do it,'' Hill said.
But his plans are known by the Cook's Creek Watershed Association, the township Planning Commission and the supervisors, all of which have endorsed the move.
Township supervisors Chairman James Brownlow said he and the board were pleased with the decision and believe it was an appropriate one.
''It's the right thing to do. He's protecting the watershed, which is something near and dear to all of us,'' Brownlow said.
Springtown resident Joanne Waterman has been buying gas at the station at least once a week for the past 12 years. She wasn't aware of Hill's plan, but after learning of them, said it will create a major inconvenience.
She said the station also will be sorely missed since it's become a spot, along with the post office, where people see neighbors and talk about what's going in the village.
''This kind of makes it a community,'' Waterman said. ''I guess now we'll have to get it all at the post office.''
Former township Supervisor Pete Lamana has lived in Springtown for 55 years and believes the station is a fixture of the village.
''I think it will be a detriment,'' he said of the station's plans to close.
Hill never spoke to Grim, who retired to Florida after selling the station and died recently. But some of what went on in those post-World War II days were told to him by customers and residents.
''People told me he washed cars in the bays on Saturdays and there was a pinball machine in the office,'' Hill said. ''There was even a time when he sold Lawn Boy lawn mowers.''
The final say on what direction Hill takes lies with the zoning board, which will decide whether to grant the change of use on Nov. 20.
In the event the plan isn't approved, Hill said he would continue to conduct business as usual until he comes up with a new idea.
The more likely outcome is approval. If that happens, Hill said, ''I would shut the pumps and the store down two or three days later.''
That means by the end of November, a piece of Springtown that has been around for 61 years could move into the memory bank.
Hill realized the sentimentality of the station and repeated his reluctance to the change, but also felt he has no choice.
''If the creek is damaged and the well is damaged and I know I had the chance to do something before it happened, I'd rather correct it now.''
Article