Tommy and Alice Sharbutt made ends meet on his military pension and her retirement income.

Sharbutt, who served two stints in Vietnam, tinkered on cars in his garage to make money on the side. The couple lived in a 67-year-old, three-bedroom house on narrow lots at 103 Wade St., in Cardin.

In January 2005, they decided to refinance. The appraiser for the mortgage company found three comparable properties in Miami. The comparables, based on recent sales, were valued at $76,000, $80,500 and $75,000, respectively. The houses were 54 years, 84 years and 46 years old. The appraiser valued the Sharbutt property at $75,000.

Tommy died of cancer on Sept. 1, 2007. A few weeks later, his widow received an offer from the Lead-Impacted Communities Relocation Assistance Trust, which is handling the $50 million buyout and relocation of property owners in the Picher-Cardin area.

The buyout and relocation of families from the Tar Creek Superfund Site in Northeast Oklahoma is the culmination of more than 30 years of struggle for the people of Picher and Cardin.

The Picher Mining Field, one of the richest lead and zinc deposits in the world, was the site of intense underground mining nearly 100 years ago. The mining took place during a time when environmental regulations were virtually non-existent.

When the mining companies ceased operations here in the 1970s, the region was left with an uncertain legacy of pollution that impacted the health of local residents. Children were especially vulnerable to a toxic mix of heavy metals. The lead-poisoning rate among children at one time was as high as 30 percent.

A $100 million effort by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to remove lead from residential yards damaged many homes. The region's status as a Superfund site further devalued properties.

A recent federal study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found that large areas in Picher and Cardin could collapse at any time. That finding triggered the $50 million buyout of more than 700 properties that is now under way.

Alice Sharbutt received an offer of $50,200 for property on which she still owes $58,000.

Paul “Huck’’ Sharbutt, who is now helping his brother’s wife with her affairs, said, “I figured they would get in the neighborhood of at least $80,000. When we started asking questions about it, it was like: ‘Who are you? You ain’t nobody.’ It was either take it or leave it.

“I kept telling my brother before he passed on that things would be OK for Alice. That the buyout would help her,” he said. “I think it would have really upset him if he were still alive today.

“I was just sick when I saw the offer. She said, ‘I can’t believe that’s all you are going to offer on it.’”

Huck decided to dig deeper. The appraisal indicated the house had two bedrooms instead of three. There are two outbuildings on the property; the appraisal showed one. A 400-square-foot garage was omitted. The house has central air and heat. That was omitted, too.

Said Sharbutt: “The only way you can go back and ask for a review is if there is a discrepancy. So, we took this back before them and called this to their attention. The first time they said ‘no.’ The second time they sent it back, they raised the offer to $52,100.’’