Day: June 27, 2024

ALTON, Ill. — A giant sinkhole has swallowed the center of a soccer complex that was built over an operating limestone mine in southern Illinois, taking down a large light pole and leaving a gaping chasm where squads of kids often play. But no injuries were reported after the sinkhole opened Wednesday morning.

“No one was on the field at the time and no one was hurt, and that’s the most important thing,” Alton Mayor David Goins told The (Alton) Telegraph.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Security video that captured the hole’s sudden formation shows a soccer field light pole disappearing into the ground, along with benches and artificial turf at the city’s Gordon Moore Park.

The hole is estimated to be at least 100 feet (30.5 meters) wide and up to 50 feet (15.2 meters) deep, said Michael Haynes, the city’s parks and recreation director.

“It was surreal. Kind of like a movie where the ground just falls out from underneath you,” Haynes told KMOV-TV.

The park and roads around it are now closed indefinitely.

New Frontier Materials Bluff City said the sinkhole resulted from “surface subsidence” at its underground mine in city, located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of St. Louis along the Mississippi River.

The collapse was reported to the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, as required, company spokesman Matt Barkett said. He told The Associated Press the limestone mine is located about 170 feet (52 meters) below ground and it’s his understanding that it runs under the city park where the sinkhole appeared.

“The impacted area has been secured and will remain off limits for the foreseeable future while inspectors and experts examine the mine and conduct repairs,” Barkett said in a statement. “We will work with the city to remediate this issue as quickly and safely as possible to ensure minimal impact on the community.”

Haynes said he doesn’t know how the sinkhole will be fixed but that engineers and geologists will most likely be involved in determining the stability of the ground and surrounding areas.

The drowning in muck, mud and slime alligator that is Judge Aileen M. Cannon has waded into the waters of even more controversy by issuing a ruling saying she wants to hold an appeal hearing on one of the Trump team’s motions.

This hearing concerns whether the crime-fraud exception can be used in this trial. This exception allows for attorney/client communications to be used if the legal discussions were used to commit crimes. This was already ruled on by another Judge, and the ruling went in the special counsel’s favor. Apparently, Judge Cannon is not happy about that and has decided to give it another look.

Now — you do know, of course, that this is nothing but yet another excuse for Cannon to keep putting off a trial date. At this point, I expect future hearings on:

– What time of day is it?

– What Trump had for lunch the day before.

– Whether court temperatures are cool enough.

– How much two plus two is?

– Of course, I write that paragraph above paragraph in jest — sort of.

This is Cannon’s way. If she had her way, she’d keep the hearings going into 2035—maybe longer. However, time is not her friend, nor will it ever be. I am becoming increasingly amused by the flip-flopping of this particular judge, and this new ruling only confirms how utterly incompetent she is.

The post Aileen Cannon is at it again appeared first on Palmer Report.