By Staff
JUST FISHING Anna Blair Pettey, left, Chandler Little and Carson Pettey fish on Sunday from a pothole on Pineview Circle in Meridian. Dr. David Pettey, Anna's and Carson's father, sent the photo to The Meridian Star Pothole Patrol. Photo by Dr. David Pettey/special to The Star
By Fredie Carmichael / staff writer
May 3, 2004
Dr. David Pettey saw a perfect way to make a point: He rounded up three children, grabbed fishing poles and rubber boots and headed out the door to snap a photograph.
Pettey took a picture of the three children fishing in a pothole on Pineview Circle in Meridian.
Pettey was one of 18 people who left phone messages or sent e-mails to The Meridian Star's Pothole Patrol during the past week identifying what they thought were the city's worst potholes.
Some calls and messages used humor to make their point. Other people were simply angry and said they wanted the city to repair the problems fast.
Meridian city officials borrowed $6 million in August 2003 to repair city streets. City councilmen are expected to hire APAC Mississippi Inc. on Tuesday to repair streets.
Work could begin in early June about 10 months after the city received the loan.
Readers respond
One man phoned the Pothole Patrol and said he was thinking about fishing out of a pothole on 23rd Avenue; another was worried someone could be killed from an accident caused by a pothole on Fifth Avenue.
One of the first to call was Ira Coleman, who complained about a pothole in front of her at 2430 37th Ave. house. On Saturday, Coleman's grandchildren played in the pothole flooded with rainwater.
For Sara Toole, any street repairs will begin months too late. Earlier this year, the front end of Toole's car struck a pothole at the intersection of 24th Street and 39th Avenue.
Toole's car smashed into the pavement and an estimated $1,000 is needed to repair it.
Vehicle repairs
But Toole won't get help from Meridian. City officials told her state law would not allow them to repair her car because they pothole had never been reported and they had no prior knowledge of it.
Other pothole locations reported to The Pothole Patrol included parts of D Street, 22nd Avenue, 23rd Avenue, Seventh Street, 17th Avenue, 12th Street, 29th Avenue, Fifth Avenue, 11th Place, Country Club Drive, 14th Street, Eighth Avenue, and 21st Street.
The Star will compile the list and pass it along to the city's Public Works department.
Coleman said she wants to see what city officials do to repair the pothole in front of her home.