“BOOM!!” RATTLE, RATTLE, RATTLE!!

That is exactly what happened at 5:04 P.M. on August 27, 2002. It was one of the biggest house rattlers in the past month. For a moment I thought we were having an earthquake, but I have experienced these house rattlers many times before and there was no after-shock like an earthquake.

Back in 1999, we the residents of HI-ACRE MANOR began noticing these house rattlers that shook the earth where our homes are located. At first we just thought it to be an over charge of dynamite at the American Aggregates located on South Harding Street due east of HI-ACRE and across White River. But, when these “BOOMS” began to happen every day, we knew then that the charges were intentionally set heavy.

There is a large lime-stone deposit that runs along White River from Kentucky Avenue south to some point south of the I-465 highway. American Ag. Mines (now Hansen’s) work on the east side of the river and Martin-Marietta are on the west side of the river near Kentucky Avenue.

Several residents of HI-ACRE had made many calls to the American Ag Mines complaining about the heavy dynamite charges that rattle our homes and are causing big cracks in the outside walls and throughout the inside of our homes. Nothing was done before March 20, 2000 when American Ag sent Sauls Engineers Inc. to HI-ACRE MANOR and installed a seismograph recorder in the front yard of one of our residents. It is still there. They have never volunteered to show anyone their tapes when they are removed from the seismograph. Only after the tapes are taken to the Mine - and then only sometimes - might we be shown small sections of it. Never have we had anyone to explain to us the calibrations on the graphs.

The City of Indianapolis was notified of our problem with these blasts and a neighborhood representative was sent out to check our homes. We were promised there would be something done about these blasts, but we are still waiting.

The mine was contacted by the neighbors again and they promised to soften the blasts by setting off the charges in a rapid sequence which was to make it less noticeable, but I believe it made it worse. Sometimes when we are outside our homes we can feel the earth shake under our feet. When I have been down at the river and a blast occurs, the water has ripples that dance across the surface. In the fall of the year, a blast will help shake the leaves off the trees.

A lengthy record has been kept of these blasts. Date. time of day, heavy or light blast, and comments on many of the heavy blasts.

One incident was on September 23, 2000 when a blast shook the home of Mr. & Mrs. B. R. Dixon. It shook their chandelier in the living room and immediately Mrs. Dixon smelled gas. The Gas company was called and they sent out a representative who shut off their gas until a plumber came and repaired two breaks in the gas lines.

No, the American Ag Mine did not pay for the repairs.

A new administration has taken over the city government and new people have been assigned to our neighborhood, but our blasting problems are still as bad as ever.

On December 10, 2001, Ms. Helen Richhart received a letter from a State Senator which had a P.S. at the bottom of the page that states: “I have been working on the problem in regard to the blasting. As a matter of fact, I am meeting with City and the Company on Jan. 4.”

What took place at that meeting? We were never told anything about it.

On June 6, 2002, several people from the Neighborhood Administration office and, an Assistant Deputy Mayor, our City-County Councillor and several neighbors from HI-ACRE met at Ms. Richhart’s home to discuss our dilemma. Thirteen people filled her living room. We were told by the Assistant Deputy Mayor that he would be looking into the problem and get back with us very soon. Mrs. Richhart showed the city representatives the cracks in the Bedford stone on the outside of her house.

Many people in HI-ACRE have the bricks in their fireplaces cracking and the flues are pulling away from the houses. The inside walls are cracking along the ceiling and some cracks are occurring across the ceilings. One blast broke the picture window of a home on Gambel Road.

Mrs. Ardella Stiffler sometimes babysits her granddaughter who is now afraid to venture into another room without an escort because she is afraid of the blasts.

What will be our next move? Perhaps we should contact American Ag (Hanson’s Mine) to see if they would purchase all of our homes. There is 92 feet of sand and gravel below us and a large layer of limestone below that. The houses are not worth much any more due to the destruction caused by the blasting.

“BOOM!!” RATTLE, RATTLE, RATTLE!!