East Palestine: 2 weeks after train derailment, many residents dissatisfied with response
The trains are running through East Palestine again, but business was far from usual on Friday for residents of the Ohio village rocked by a train derailment and subsequent fire two weeks ago.
A family assistance center in nearby New Waterford logged 3,500 residents seeking a $1,000 inconvenience check and reimbursement for meals, lodging and other expenses during an extended evacuation order.
The center was set up by Norfolk Southern at the Abundant Life Fellowship, and residents were issued tickets for a place at the tables in the church hall, where their applications were processed. Wait times varied, but ran longer than two hours for some.
Norfolk Southern Senior Director Will Harden said Friday he expected another 3,500 people to come through the church doors by day's end. Not all of those are applying for assistance, and some have returned more than once, he said. About 20 workers are staffing the center seven days a week, 10 of them Norfolk Southern employees.
"We haven't seen a slowdown," he said.
Harden said the company expanded the assistance coverage area from the 1-mile evacuation radius to include all residents in the 44413 ZIP code.
"We are committed to the recovery of the community," he said. "We're not going anywhere."
East Palestine residents remain unsatisfied by government response
East Palestine residents Sara Kelty and Shawn Bruce arrived about noon at the center, and they were skeptical about the commitment of both Norfolk Southern and the federal government.
"FEMA said, 'No, you're not eligible for help,' " Bruce said. "Norfolk Southern has been nowhere to be found. It's like we don't matter."
Like other residents about town Friday, Bruce and Kelty said they've had a difficult time getting answers to questions about the long-term effects of substances carried in the train cars. They don't trust the answers they've been given.
William Hugar, a Taggart Street resident who watched the accident unfold before he left to stay in a shelter, dined at Sprinklz On Top while he groused about the situation.
He'd like the government to come down hard on Norfolk Southern and restrict the size of the trains it runs through East Palestine. And he'd like to see more empathy from the top.
"The president of the United States has not said anything about this," he said.
Worries about pregnant wife, son with breathing issues
East Palestine resident Cato Wolf, who was also at the center, said his son suffered breathing problems the night of the accident.
"He was grabbing at his throat and pulling at his lips," Wolf said.
He and his wife, who worries about the effect of the smoke on her pregnancy, evacuated within hours. They don't intend on returning, except for their belongings, said Wolf. He said his son recovered quickly after moving out of the village.
"We're definitely not going back to live in that town right now," he said.
Concerns about East Palestine water persist
At T&M Hardware and Rental on East Taggart a couple of blocks from the derailment, the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley was distributing cases of water.
"We've probably given away 1,000 to 1,200 cases so far," said Michael Iberis, executive director of the food bank. "We've got another truck coming."
He said water and funds have been donated from all over the country.
Iberis said residents remain concerned about the water supply whether they're on city water or have their own wells. The wells providing water to the municipal water system have all been tested and passed. But many individual wells are still waiting on tests.
Either way, people are wary, he said.
"You've got the people who are saying, 'I would like to have pure water to assure (myself),' " he said.
Signs of train derailment: Wreckage, water treatment, closed roads
Roads to the derailment site are still blocked off as crews continued to work on the charred wreckage.
Water aeration stations dot the landscape along the Sulphur Run and Leslie Run streams, including one a block from Crystal Mahoney on Rebecca Street. She's one of those who remain concerned despite tests that show water and air quality are safe.
"I honestly don't know if I'll ever feel comfortable here again," she said.
Like others, she said the information she wants hasn't been forthcoming or she hasn't been able to find it. She'd like to know what cleaning supplies are best to remove possible chemical residue from the accident, for instance.
The derailment, fires, smoke and evacuation have led her and her husband to consider moving out of the village.
"He's ready to pick up and move right now," she said. "And we love this community."
Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: East Palestine: 2 weeks after derailment, many residents dissatisfied
