HORN LAKE, MS - A stinky situation in Horn Lake, Mississippi, and neighbors say the city isn't doing anything about it. People in one neighborhood say they've had it with the sewer system backing up. They're taking drastic measures to make their voices heard.
Sewage problems have forced the Forsythe family to gut the inside of their house. They say, until the city does something to fix it, it'll happen again.
A “Johnny on the spot” meant to send a message. Joe Forsythe put the port-a-potty in his front yard to make a statement about the sewage situation.
"I want it fixed,” Forsythe said. “Because it could turn into a catastrophic health problem this sewage like this."
Before his house filled with sewage two weeks ago, Forsythe says he saw it coming. So he's making his opinion loud and clear. The sign in his yard says his house is in ruins and the city's to blame. He's not alone. The Giffords got swamped with sewage last year.
"It's rough,” Connye Gifford said. “I sat and cried on my front porch. What else could I do? I lost a lot. I lost a lot of memories."
She wants the city to reimburse her.
"You keep calling,” Gifford said. “You can only call so many times until you get tired of it."
"They just don't want to take the time to dig it up and replace it like it's supposed to be," said her son, Jacob Gifford.
The Director of Operations for Horn Lake says the city paid to clean up the Gifford's house. He says they never asked him for anything else.
As for Joe Forsythe's stinky situation, the city says it's about to install a new pump station that should solve the problem.
"I can't really put any faith in it because I’ve been listening to the same stories for 38 years," Forsythe said.
Neighbors say, if they can't get the city's attention, the only thing left to do is shame them.
Joe Forsythe says the sewage from 4 homes spilled down into his after heavy rains a couple weeks ago.
