'Let's just celebrate!' Missouri neighborhood throws 'graduation' party for recently fixed pothole



KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- We might be well into the summer, but Friday was graduation day for one Kansas City pothole who recently found internet fame.

We first met this Waldo pothole June 28 after a concerned neighbor near 82nd and Cherry decided to throw it a three-month birthday party.

Back in March, Frank Sereno called 311 to complain about the pothole, but it went months without being filled.

"I thought, 'What I can I do to have a little fun?'" Sereno said. "Everyone is always complaining about the potholes, but complaining doesn't seem to be getting anything done. So I said, 'I want to keep it top of mind.' I know my fellow Waldo neighbors are just as disgusted as I am so I said, 'Let's just celebrate it's birthday. It's third birthday.'"

The pothole garnered so much media coverage that it was quickly repaired; the community took notice.

On Friday, they decided to throw a graduation for the pothole in honor of its new look.

"Pothole has graduated, and he's moving on to bigger and better things," Serano said. "He's said he wants to take the summer off to think about what he wants to do. He may get into politics. We'll see what happens, but right now it's all up in the air. We're just happy that he's been fixed, and he's ready to move onto his next life."

But the pothole also now has a little sister. Sereno said Saturday he plans to call about the new pothole that popped up less than a foot away.