Sealing Mine Shafts

Four state residents are concerned about what could become a deadly hazard right in their back yards. Imagine walking along your neighborhood and falling more than a hundred of feet into a mine shaft. That`s a possability for some webb city residents. There are nine open mine shafts in this neighborhood in Webb City,but thanks to two state organizations the dangerous shafts will soon be sealed. "If a person were to accidently step into one or be fooling around and fall into one. there`d be an excelent chance of serious injury or death. This one would be inescapable because one you tumble into that opening there`s a 40 foot verticle drop to water. the depth is over 150 feet,"said Clint Bishop, a Land Reclamation Specialist. Danny Chavez and his son are all too familiar with the mines. "They`re not allowed to get past right in here because of these mine shafts. we don`t know how deep they are so their not allowed to go back over there." The mine shaft are left over from the late 1800s lead and zinc mining. Resealing of the nine shafts will cost the state almost 90 thousand dollars. The sealing of the shafts should begin on monday and should last three weeks. Reported By: Brad Douglas