“We couldn’t have made it without them,” Magness says.Įighty-one-year-old Norma Carr raised four children in the cedar-sided 1930s duplex she moved into 57 years ago and where three generations lived together before the derailment. Samantha, now 16, gets all A’s, attends homecoming and still has her circle of friends. Summer Magness chokes up recalling how the community held benefit dinners after her eldest daughter, Samantha, suffered multiple cardiac arrests playing softball four years ago, resulting in a brain injury that left her paralyzed and unable to speak. Parents don’t worry about their kids because they know other parents are looking out for them. This is the kind of place where everyone seems connected to everyone else, residents say. “I just kind of feel like those memories are tainted because when you hear a train now it kind of makes you cringe.” “You want them to be able to have those memories,” says Conard, who returned to East Palestine six years ago to raise her family where the sound of trains was the backdrop to her own childhood. Can they remain in the town where “generations upon generations” of family have lived? Or play at the park where the chemicals are being removed from a stream. Jessica Conard, a 37-year-old speech therapist, wonders whether her boys - ages 3, 8 and 9 - will ever be able to fish in the pond separating their property from the railroad tracks. It’s also establishing funds for health care and to help sellers if their property value falls because of the accident.īut it’s the unknown that worries people. The railroad says testing shows drinking water is safe, though it’s establishing a fund for long-term drinking water protection. “Nothing jumped off page for us yet,” Durno says, adding that testing would continue just to be sure. The EPA’s Mark Durno says continual air monitoring at the derailment site and in the community and soil tests in parks, on agricultural land and at other potentially affected areas have not yet detected concerning levels of any contaminants. The railroad also handed out $1,000 “inconvenience checks” to residents within the ZIP code that includes East Palestine and surrounding areas, but most did not qualify for further assistance and went home. “I pledge that we won’t be finished until we make it right,” Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw told an Ohio rail safety committee last week. The railroad also must remove toxic chemicals from two creeks, which could take longer. Norfolk Southern Railroad is paying for lodging for some families but won’t say how many still are out of their homes while the railroad excavates tens of thousands of tons of contaminated soil, a process the Environmental Protection Agency expects to take another 2-3 months. “So it’s trying to find something to keep yourself busy, to keep from going crazy.” “I have nothing here,” says Drummond, sitting on an orange plastic chair outside the Davis Motel in North Lima, Ohio. The retired truck driver and Gulf War veteran misses mowing the lawn, puttering around his yard and chatting with regulars at the tavern next door. Others, like Drummond, are not allowed back in their homes because of the ongoing cleanup. Some are staying away until they’re sure it’s safe. Most have returned, though many complain about illnesses and worry about soil, water and air quality. 3 derailment, officials decided to burn toxic vinyl chloride from five tanker cars to prevent a catastrophic explosion. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.Home Partners of America and A New Path to Homeownership are registered trademarks of Home Partners of America LLC.About half of East Palestine’s nearly 5,000 residents evacuated when, days after the Feb. This information is not intended for use in determining a person's eligibility to attend a school or to use or benefit from other city, town or local services. Contact a local real estate professional or the school district(s) for current information on schools. School information does not guarantee enrollment. This information is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be relied on in making any home-buying decisions. Listing information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed accurate. Each office is independently owned and operated. Century 21 Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. All rights reserved.ĬENTURY 21 ®, the CENTURY 21 Logo and C21 ® are service marks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC.
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