EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — More than nine months after a fiery derailment in East Palestine, Governor Mike DeWine is touting progress in the Columbiana County village and hoping to earn the people's trust there.
The governor visited East Palestine Friday to receive a status update from the Ohio EPA and assuage the fears for health, safety and livelihoods.
“This is going to take a long time to completely heal. But the good news, from the meeting we had and other conversations I’ve had, is that people are going about their lives, and things are moving forward,” DeWine said.
He and Ohio’s first lady stopped at East Palestine High School Friday morning to see demonstrations from the high school science club. Like many of the town’s residents, the teenagers said the past year has been filled with uncertainty.
“I looked over at my parents and was like, ‘There’s like a train derailment going on.’ They’re like, ‘What?’ So we turned on the news, and it was just hectic and chaos,” recalled junior Heather Mohney.
The 2023 spring semester was upended for the students after a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in early February. The disaster raised fears and questions in the small town.
“The chemicals were still kind of the main worry about what’s going to happen to the wildlife and the drinking water and all of that,” said junior Amelia Persing.
Amid the stress and uncertainty, the high school science club has also had the unique opportunity to conduct a hands-on study of the environmental effects.
“The kids were panicked; their parents were stressed. And my science kids were like, ‘What are we doing?’ And so I’m like, ‘So what do you want to do?’ They wanted to have the science speak for itself,” said Bonnie Sansenbaugher, the science club advisor.
The students shadowed EPA researchers and measured the air, water and soil quality themselves. On Friday, they showed the governor their findings, including evidence that some sensitive fish species have returned to a nearby creek.
DeWine said the Ohio EPA is measuring similar progress, and he hopes the data will help ease concerns in the community.
“This community suffered huge trauma,” he said. “The people in the community need to be able to see exactly what they’re doing and explain in terms that the layperson like me can understand.”
During a press conference Friday, the governor said the state will soon begin awarding zero-interest, forgivable loans to businesses impacted by the derailment and its fallout. He also announced a $150,000 contribution to the town to purchase two eight-ton dump trucks, a one-ton utility bed truck and a drone for current and future emergency response.
“We constantly are looking at what we’re doing. And we’re listening and trying to react and give them what they want,” DeWine said.
He said the derailment highlighted a need for improved emergency response equipment.
Students also said the disaster has been a unique learning experience. They said despite lingering concerns and uncertainty, they feel hopeful about the town’s future.
“We have a couple of friends that moved away since then. So it’s definitely hard with some people leaving. But I think it’s getting better,” Mohney said.
