NORTH LAWRENCE, Ohio — As we remain committed to following through on the stories that matter most, we want to revisit the small town of North Lawrence, where damage was left behind on the Tuslaw baseball team's field and the fire station's lot after a 19-car Norfolk Southern train derailment in 2022.
The train company was supposed to take care of the cleanup immediately after but is just now making good on its promise after we called and reported on the mess back in July.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
The effort was made just in time for the Tuslaw baseball team to make its fall season debut. As coach James “Jim” Barkan explained, the team’s home field, which is owned by the North Lawrence Fire Station, is “where everybody makes you feel like you're friends and part of the family."
During one of the team’s first games back playing on the field, Barkan’s 11-year-old son Zachary, who plays on the team, reminisced with our News 5 crew, saying, “It's amazing what's been accomplished…I just love it. It's amazing playing here.”
Just months ago, Barkan and his teammates were sad while visiting the field and the 10-foot-tall eyesore filled with rail rocks that were planted in the outfield. The un-leveled and abandoned baseball field was deemed unsafe for the Tuslaw baseball team to play on.
“After your initial reporting down here, I want to say it was within 24, 48 hours,” said Lt. Brandon Johnston, Public Information Officer for the North Lawrence Fire Station. “We received a phone from the representative of Norfolk Southern basically wanting to come to a conclusion.”
Norfolk Southern removed the gravel and repaired the field to its satisfaction. As Johnston explained, “Between Tuslaw baseball and ourselves, we agreed that we wanted to improve the work a little further.”
The fire station ended up dipping into its general appropriations fund to secure $3,000 to purchase and install topsoil for the baseball field.
As for damage surrounding the North Lawrence fire station and its parking lot, which is just feet away from the baseball field, Norfolk Southern sent a check for $260,000. Lt. Johnston says repairs are set for mid-October and should only take a few days to complete.
“We're very excited for that, obviously," Johnson said.
The excitement is hard to contain for the entire North Lawrence community as they are once again cheering on the next generation.
Johnston says they are planning for fundraising with hopes to purchase new field lighting and home-run fencing sponsored by the community. The crew is hoping the Cleveland Guardians will want to be part of the efforts.
