Any sudden noises that Lou Lawrence, of Scott, hears while at home makes him "jumpy." When a car backfires, he gets really nervous.

He and his neighbors check their foundations every day. Since a landslide occurred in 2004 after some storms, rainfall is not a welcome sight for residents of five Boroview Avenue homes located about 10 feet away from a 200-foot-wide, 100-foot-high hole.

"I remember the distinctive noise that was made when the trees crashed over the hillside," neighbor Charles Cooney Jr. said.

	Robin Rombach, Post-Gazette From left, Barbara and Louis Lawrence, Charles Cooley and Joyce and Steve Habovick stand along the back of their homes in Scott, where the hillside is continually eroding. The hillside started to fall during the heavy rains and flooding that accompanied Hurricane Ivan. Click photo for larger image.

"Every time it rains, you wonder what else is going to go," he said, noting that he is starting to lose the flower bed that he planted for his deceased wife. He said he is not looking forward to the spring thaw.

The homes on that street are more than 100 years old, said Scott Commissioner Eileen Meyers, who represents the 1st Ward, where the landslide occurred. She lives not far away.

Mr. Lawrence, 62, has lived in his home all his life.

On March 9, County Executive Dan Onorato and state Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Brookline, and other county, state and township officials visited the site. "They were surprised at the steep slope and the depth of the drop," Mrs. Meyers said.

The officials announced Scott would receive a $100,000 grant. Commissioners plan to use it toward building a $600,000 retaining wall with $80,000 used for grouting. They hope to receive more grant money from the federal and state government for the project that was suggested by an engineering firm the township hired, Garvin-Boward Engineering.

The commissioners selected the cheaper of two options, Mrs. Meyers said. The other was to build a rock buttress embankment 100 feet high and 200 feet in length at a cost of about $1.2 million.

Her neighbors lived on the street for years, but Linda Kirkhart, an aide at Allegheny Valley schools, moved to her home a year before the slide occurred. "In my back yard my dirt is still moving," she said.

She had the presence of mind to take photos just after the slide occurred.

By coincidence, three of the residents -- Lawrence, Francis Rambo and Scott Habovick -- have been working for years at the Scott public works department. Township employees are required to live in the township, Mr. Rambo explained.

He remembered that it was only nine years ago that he had a metal swimming pool in his back yard.

"It is not a comfortable feeling living here," he said.

"We're almost afraid to look over the edge any more," said Mr. Cooley, an employee of Computer Aid Inc.

The recent visit has raised hopes that the problem can and will be fixed. "I appreciate the extra effort they made by coming here," Mr. Rambo said.