Trending
EAST PALESTINE -- Dog Days will return to East Palestine in spirit if not in name on Saturday when a "Day of Service" will be held in the village.
Registration begins at 8 a.m. at the East Palestine City Park with cleanup and projects to begin at 9 a.m. Lunch will be served at noon. The day of volunteerism is to encourage village residents to give back to their hometown, while promoting a sense of camaraderie and community.
During Monday's council meeting, council member Jessica Rocco clarified that, despite rumors to the contrary, it is not meant to replace Dog Days which the village plans to resurrect in name next year. A technicality and the way a village city ordinance is penned prevented the event from being held under that title this year without a committee in place.
"This is an event to fix things in the community, take on projects that we might not be able to get to with other entities," she said. "It's just a day for the community to come together for East Palestine. This is Dog Days, we just can't call it 'Dog Days' because of the ordinance."
Norfolk Southern community liaison Jeremy Vransevich suggested resuming the annual event which has been dormant since the COVID pandemic in 2020. His plans were immediately faced with backlash as some in the village accused Norfolk Southern of trying to re-brand the event. Vransevich contended that couldn't be further from the truth. Vransevich also reminded them he lives in the community.
"I am an East Palestine resident. I am one of you," Vransevich said. "I have a 3-year-old daughter and this town means a lot to us. We have chosen to raise our daughter here. The whole intent was sweat equity. I am a firm believer in sweat equity and bringing pride back into your town. I wasn't trying to step on anybody's toes. Yes, I work for Norfolk Southern, but I am also a community member and that's first and foremost."
Rocco said it's not a NF event. It's a community event.
"In the past, businesses and individuals donated to this event, monetary, with supplies, with food, with drinks, with help. Given the current situation we didn't feel comfortable asking people to donate. We were comfortable asking for help but not with those other things. Norfolk Southern has graciously offered to pay for supplies and pay for food and beverages," Rocco said. "But they are not taking over the event. That is an important distinction. This isn't a situation where Norfolk is coming in and re-writing history. They simply came in as a sprout system so our village can hold an event we enjoy and has been beneficial for it and make it happen."
Painting, planting, weeding and other small projects will be delegated to residents wishing to volunteer. Residents from other communities are also invited to lend a helping hand on Saturday.
DeWine requests another FEMA extension
As residents plan to protest at the statehouse today in an effort to force Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to request an emergency declaration, DeWine's office announced on Tuesday that the governor has submitted a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requesting a second extension on the deadline for Ohio to request a major disaster declaration for damage resulting from the train derailment in East Palestine.
DeWine initially requested and was granted a 120-day extension in March after FEMA indicated that the East Palestine disaster likely would not qualify for traditional FEMA aid. That extension will expire on July 3.
In his letter, DeWine asked FEMA for an additional extension of 120 days to allow for continued assessments of the impacts of the derailment and to ensure a full resolution of the issues impacting East Palestine.
"This extension would allow the State of Ohio to continue its efforts to ensure that Norfolk Southern provides the impacted areas with resources needed to recover from the event, including financial assistance, and to identify any gaps in areas of recovery where federal assistance may be needed," DeWine wrote.
According to DeWine, the extension will ensure that East Palestine can receive assistance from FEMA should the derailment qualify for traditional FEMA aid in the future.
EPA releases reconstruction plume map
The Environment Protection Agency released this week a map of areas that were "most likely impacted by smoke and soot" from the "vent and burn operation" on Feb. 6.
According to the EPA, the agency requested an Event Reconstruction model and map from the Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center (IMAAC)." The map "estimates the extent and concentration of soot deposited into the environment" and shows the highest soot fallout occurred just north of Ohioville, Pa. The surface dosage from the burn extends from above Warren and Sharon, Pa. to just east of Weirton.
EPA said it requested the analysis to help support off-site characterization efforts aimed at investigating impacts from the derailment. For the analysis, it was assumed that at the train derailment location 90% of the total available mass of vinyl chloride and 90% of the total available mass of other compounds (ethylene glycol, ethyl hexyl acrylate, butyl acrylate) was burned. The map can be viewed at EPA. gov.
March planned at county courthouse
A March for Medicare for All is planned at the Columbiana County Courthouse on July 22 from noon to 3 p.m. The event is meant to bring attention to those who say they are suffering health problems in the wake of February's Norfolk Train derailment and to demand that Social Security Act 1881a be enacted for those residents. The policy provides free health care to citizens whose health is impacted by environmental disasters. The government applied the policy in Libby, Montana, where 10% of the residents have been diagnosed with an illness related to naturally-occurring asbestos that was unearthed under the town of 4,000 during mining operations.
Residents in East Palestine and surrounding areas have reported a long list of symptoms they blame on the derailment, including headaches, rashes, nosebleeds, fatigue, respiratory irritation and digestive issues
Taggart expected to remain closed through summer
East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said that he expects East Taggart Street to remain closed until August. Conaway said as long as material is being removed from the site, the road will remain closed for safety reasons.
Water continues to show no contamination
Drinking water sampling results from the East Palestine Municipal Water System continue to show no indication of contaminants associated with the derailment. The public water system continues to meet all state and federal standards for safe drinking water. Sentinel and monitoring well sampling also show no indication that chemicals associated with the derailment are moving toward the East Palestine well field.
Progress made at derailment site
The cleanup of the track area including the north ditch is expected to be completed this week, and Norfolk Southern is in the process of rebuilding the second rail line. The Pleasant Drive crossing is being excavated and rebuilt. The road remains closed throughout the week to allow the work to be safely completed. With the completion of the track area, Norfolk Southern is preparing to move into the areas adjacent to the rail where derailment materials were staged.
According to the Ohio EPA, approximately 20.2 million gallons of liquid wastewater have been hauled out of East Palestine in total. There is currently a pile of approximately 11,400 tons of excavated soil waiting for removal from East Palestine, versus 66,300 tons that have been removed.