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Corvette Museum to completely fill in sinkhole

By WTOP Staff

BRUCE SCHREINER
Associated Press

A massive sinkhole that swallowed eight prized sports cars won’t be a permanent attraction at the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky.

The museum’s board of directors voted Saturday to fill in the entire hole that opened up in February and became an Internet sensation. Curiosity over the hole revved up attendance and revenue for the museum in Bowling Green, an hour north of Nashville, Tennessee.

Board members reversed course by deciding against preserving a section of the gaping hole.

Mindful of the hole’s popularity, museum officials in late June were leaning toward keeping part of the hole open and putting a crumpled sports car back in it to memorialize what happened when cars toppled like toys amid rocks, concrete and dirt when the sinkhole opened up in the museum’s Skydome.

The option of keeping part of the hole open lost favor because of added costs due to safety features, museum officials said.

“We really wanted to preserve a portion of the hole so that guests for years to come could see a little bit of what it was like, but after receiving more detailed pricing, the cost outweighs the benefit,” said museum Executive Director Wendell Strode.

To keep part of the hole, workers would have installed 35-foot-tall retaining walls and inserted beams in the hole to prevent future cracking, said museum spokeswoman Katie Frassinelli. Costs mounted to about $1 million — double earlier estimates — due to safety and humidity-control features.

Another worry was ongoing maintenance costs if a section of the hole stayed open, they said.

“It just wasn’t practical to do it,” Strode said.

The museum didn’t disclose how much it will cost to fill in the 60-foot-long, 45-foot-wide, 30-foot-deep sinkhole. Repairs are expected to start in November and take about six months, officials said. The museum will remain open, but the Skydome will be sealed off from visitors, who will be able to watch the repairs through a Plexiglas wall.

The hole will be filled completely with rock, then workers will drill into it to install steel casings, Frassinelli said. Crews will pour grout into the casings, creating a steel and concrete pillar to provide additional support under the floor.

Bowling Green, in south-central Kentucky, sits in the midst of a large karst region where many of Kentucky’s longest and deepest caves run underground. A karst region displays distinctive surface features, including sinkholes.

No one disputed the bonanza the Corvette Museum reaped from the sinkhole as more people ventured off the nearby interstate to visit.

Security camera footage showing the floor’s collapse has been viewed nearly 8.3 million times on YouTube, the museum said.

The Corvettes were pulled out of the hole to great fanfare. Visitors have been able to take a close look at the hole and the damaged cars.

Attendance surged by 66 percent since the hole opened up and revenue shot up 71 percent, Frassinelli said.

Museum membership has increased, and sales of merchandise are up at the museum, she said. The museum sells sinkhole-related shirts, postcards, prints and a 39-minute DVD about the sinkhole.

Meanwhile, the museum and Chevrolet have decided to repair three of the damaged cars.

Chevrolet will restore the 1992 white 1 millionth Corvette and the 2009 ZR1 Blue Devil, which was the first car pulled from the hole. Chevrolet will fund restoration of a 1962 black Corvette, but the museum will oversee the work. The other five were too badly damaged but will be displayed in their dented and crushed conditions at the museum.

“As the cars were recovered, it became clear that restoration would be impractical because so little was left to repair,” said General Motors global product development chief Mark Reuss. “And, frankly, there is some historical value in leaving those cars to be viewed as they are.”

The museum owned six of the cars and the other two were on loan from GM.

In all, General Motors will provide nearly $250,000 in support to help the museum recover from the sinkhole, the automaker said.

Announcements about repairing the sinkhole and cars came as thousands of Corvette enthusiasts converged on Bowling Green during the holiday weekend to celebrate the museum’s 20th anniversary.

The museum is located near the Bowling Green factory where the iconic Corvettes are made.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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