Damaged wall worries some

WILKES-BARRE – An already damaged wall channeling Laurel Run Creek through the city's Parsons section could get worse if Hurricane Sandy lives up to its billing, some residents said on Saturday.

The storm has the potential to fill creeks and streams with fast moving water and cause them to spill over their banks.

But flooding isn't what worries Mark Gowarty.

His house on Govier Street sits next to one of the high stone walls that contain the creek as it runs through the neighborhood.

Gowarty said he's concerned a storm fed creek coursing through the channel would undermine the wall.

The city hasn't cleared the creek bed of rocks, debris and vegetation and the water flows against the wall next to his house.

I've never seen anybody working in there, he said Saturday.

Contractors are repairing a section of the wall upstream. Yet other sections have washed out and have yet to be repaired.

The city piled dirt around a damaged portion of the wall on Oliver Street and dumped rock and dirt along spot on Kresge Street.

Longtime resident Jim Smith wondered why the repairs weren't done sooner.

It's too late, said Smith, who has lived on Trethaway Street near the creek since 1958.

The scene along Solomon Creek in the city's southern end was much different.

The city installed gates on bridges to prevent flooding and has kept the creek bed pretty much clear of debris.

Mary Daniels of Waller Street said the gates do their job. They work, she said.

She's paying attention to the storm warnings and said the having lived in the area, she knows what to expect.

You just get prepared, Daniels said.

Her basement is mostly cleared of personal belongings.

We have the things we need in case we get flooded, she said, listing a generator, power washer and heavy duty vacuum cleaner.