'We're Scared, Too': Ohio Residents Press for Answers on Train Derailment at Meeting
Campbell Robertson and Emily Cochrane The New York Times
East Palestine community holds meeting over health and safety concerns but Norfolk Southern Corporation skips event. (photo: AP)
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Officials for the railroad company pulled out hours earlier, infuriating some residents who said they wanted answers from the company.
The mayor pleaded with the crowd at East Palestine High School to remain civil as they called out questions and occasionally booed after answers. The meeting was the latest effort to quell concerns and ballooning distrust, nearly two weeks after a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed and a controlled burn of chemicals onboard forced residents to evacuate temporarily.
Linda Murphy, 49, who attended the meeting with her husband, Russell, pressed officials about the difficulty of getting her water tested. Dead fish were turning up in a creek near her house, Ms. Murphy said, and the smell of chemicals hung in the air. “I don’t understand how we can have this issue and everything is O.K.”
