By Roger McKinney

rmckinney@joplinglobe.com

GALENA, Kan. - A contractor for a state agency on Tuesday began filling in the large cave-in hole that had consumed the back section of the Green Parrot bar in Galena.

A lovebird named Romeo remained inside the building, the town's only drinking establishment.

A large portion of the back section of the building at 319 Main St. collapsed about 7 a.m. Tuesday, said Galena police Chief Larry Delmont. More large pieces fell into the mine collapse after 11 a.m.

The building began falling apart Monday morning, after a mine collapse opened up in the ground behind the building. Mickey Morang, who lived in an upstairs apartment of the building, escaped with his mother, Opal Currey, and his dog before the danger became too great. Currey lived in a ground-floor apartment of the building. Currey and Morang have operated the bar for the past 25 years.

While Morang said Monday that his building was insured, City Attorney Kevin Cure on Tuesday said most insurance policies don't cover damage caused by mine collapses.

Cure had been working to get consent from the owners to allow the hole to be filled.

"I've never seen anything like that," Cure said of the hole.

Delmont on Tuesday said the hole had grown to about 70 feet in diameter and about 60 feet deep.

Delmont said water service was interrupted for some residents Tuesday morning, but it was restored by about 11 a.m.

Larry Spahn, environmental technician with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Surface Mining Section, said the collapse was a drift failure.

Spahn said shafts are vertical holes in the ground, and drifts spread in every direction from the shafts. He said that when the mines were operating, miners would follow the vein of lead or zinc ore and extract it. He said that left large, empty spaces underground throughout the Tri-State Mining District.

"It's just an ongoing problem that's left over from the area's mining legacy," Spahn said. "A lot of money came out of the ore and coal fields. Now we're reaping the problems."

Spahn said his agency, with the cooperation of the city, has filled all the known mine shafts in Galena and capped them with concrete. He said that has not been done for the drifts, because it is too difficult to fill them.