Officials trying to determine who should fix sinkhole near Dino’s

As if recent rains and storms haven’t caused enough trouble locally, early reports are that a huge sinkhole in the parking lot of a local eatery could be chalked up to the wet conditions as well.

As you enter the parking lot of Dino’s Italian Restaurant in south Corbin, half of the entrance is cordoned off with caution tape for precautionary reasons, but restaurant manager Kosta Ververis says he feels like it is safe to enter the parking lot through the space provided.

"We feel like it is safe and we want people to know that," Ververis said. "Hopefully something will be done soon, but we think it is safe to pass through like it is."

The hole Ververis is talking about is believed to be sitting above what used to be a creek that runs from McDonald’s parking lot all the way to the parking lot at the Tri-County Cineplex. The direction of the creek is what Ververis said makes him feel a little bit better about the stability around the hole.

"It seems like the creek that is under there is running towards the movie theatre," he said. "Hopefully that means it won’t be going toward us anymore."

As for who is responsible for the repair of the hole, no one seems to be quite sure of that.

Corbin City Manager Bill Ed Cannon did say he was in the process of looking into the matter and said it may take some time to determine the exact cause of the hole.

"The rains certainly couldn’t have helped it, that’s for sure, but it is probably just something that has occurred over time" Cannon said. "We are looking into it at this time though.

"I know there used to be a tributary to Bacon Creek that ran through there, but that has been a long time ago," he added. "You have to realize there has been a lot of stuff built in that area over the past 10 to 15 years, so we really don’t know what the situation is right now."