The McKinneys tan, vinyl-sided home still has icicle Christmas lights hanging from the gutter, a reminder of the family s move from the home not long after the holiday season. Dark brown-painted wood rockers and a porch swing sit on the shaded front porch where wasps are the only residents. A drainage ditch encircles the neighborhood, which lies in a flood plain. Sparks Avenue branches off Lehman Street, both of which end in a dead end. Prior to moving to Sparks Avenue, the family lived on West Ninth Street.
Lead is in that yard, too.
McKinney s mother also lived on West Ninth Street. EPA found the highest amounts of lead 2,349 parts per million in the late Margaret Estell McKinney s yard. Mrs. McKinney recently died of heart failure at age 38. A Lehman Street home adjacent to the McKinneys home is for sale. Several neighborhood homes are vacant.