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Concrete work to take place Monday
The Ohio Department of Transportation will be conducting concrete work in Salem on Franklin Avenue near Ohio Avenue.
The work will begin Monday morning with the installation of a temporary traffic signal. City Service Safety Director Joe Cappuzzello said that work was necessary to remove a section of damaged concrete and install a patch.
Salem Music Study Club will meet
The Salem Music Study Club will meet at 7 p.m. Nov. 29 in the Emmanuel Lutheran Church's Educational Building parlor. Vice President Mike Newman and assisted by Jeff Davis will give information and do separate musical works based on the famous composer John Williams. The National Federation and Ohio Federation has declared the month of November as American Music Month.
Featured in the program will be Sarah Gustwiller on clarinet, Newman on trumpet, Lydia Andres on violin and Jan Schaffer Cox on the piano.
Guests are welcome, refreshments will be provided, plus information about the 59th Choir Festival will be shared and prepared for 3 p.m. Dec. 3 at the First Methodist Church in Salem. Eight choirs will sing with plenty of piano interlude and in closing the Hallelujah Chorus with the combined choirs from Handel's Messiah. In addition, there will be a scholarship winner that longtime member Brenda Bradley will host.
Salem Public Library happenings
-- Salem Public Library will offer a writer's workshop, helping participants advance their skills through prompt-driven sessions, Dec. 5, Dec. 19, Jan. 9 and Jan. 23. The program is open to all levels of writers and will be led by author Bambi Sommers, a resident of Northeastern Ohio with extensive experience with a variety of publication outlets, including romance thrillers. The program is free of cost and open to the public. Writer's Workshop is a linked series, which requires advanced registration; registration for the first session automatically registers for all remaining sessions. Registration can be completed on the library's website, www.SalemPublicLibrary.org. For assistance with registration call the library at 330-332-0042.
--The Salem Public Library along with the Salem Parks and Recreation Department are sponsoring another event in their "Go Wild in the Park" series featuring a DIY nature ornament using natural elements that can be found in the Salem parks this time of year from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Dec. 5 in the Salem Public Library Reading Room. The event is free of cost and open to the public. Advanced registration is required and can be completed on the library's website at www.SalemPublicLibrary.org. For assistance with registration call the library at 330-332-0042.
--The Salem Public Library is offering its program Stitches in Time from 2 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday afternoons in the Reading Room for those who embroider, crochet, knit, applique, tat, sew by hand, or do needlepoint. This group of needle-wielders shares tips while socializing and working on their current project (or two). Light refreshments are provided by the library. This program is free of cost and open to all. Registration is not required.
-- Salem Public Library will launch its winter schedule of Adult Cooking classes from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 4, with a program featuring White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies and Coconut Hot Chocolate. Participants will work together to make cookies and hot chocolate. As part of the program, participants learn about the cacao plant along with the nutritional profiles for a variety of chocolate products. Participants will also sample white, milk, 60% dark, 75% extra-dark chocolate and cocoa powder in order to create a taste profile and decide which product is best suited for a variety of purposes -- including eating. This program is free of cost and open to the public. Advanced registration is required and can be completed on the library's website at www.SalemPublicLibrary.org. For assistance with registration call the library at 330-332-0042. Those who want to take cookies and hot chocolate home should bring suitable containers for transport.
Residents thankful in wake of derailment
ENON VALLEY, Pa. -- Residents in communities impacted by the Feb. 3 train derailment came together on Tuesday for a Thanksgiving dinner to reflect on what they've lost, but also what they've gained in the wake of the rail disaster.
The event was held at the SNPJ Recreation Center in Enon Valley and was billed as a chance to "eat, drink and build a hopeful community together" by organizers. The dinner was organized by the grassroot advocacy group Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment, hosted by Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community and funded by Toxic Free Future, Break Free From Plastic, Only One, Clean Air Action Fund and Riverwise. For many, what they've gained is the new relationships built on navigating through a new normal as the fear of what the fullscope of the derailment means for those living in East Palestine and the surrounding areas.
"I wanted to host this event to bring people back together," said Hilary Flint, Unity Council communications director. "To give people a space to enjoy each other and a hot meal. It felt like the right thing to do."
What they've lost, Flint said, can not be measured, pointing out that over 200 families are still displaced this holiday season due to the derailment and the uneasiness of living in homes they believe are contaminated after the vent and burn of vinyl chloride and spilling of other chemicals. She said that the dinner was a way to support those who harbor fears and concerns nearly 10 months after the derailment and who are often ostracized when they voice those concerns.
"Norfolk Southern and the local government haven't done enough to support the people in a direct way," Flint added. "If they won't, we will. Community will." Since the derailment, residents have expressed trepidation and worry over long-term health effects. Some have already reported ailments they believe are connected to the rail disaster. Symptoms reported by residents include persistent nosebleeds, skin rashes, eye irritation, gastrointestinal issues, headaches and respiratory difficulties.
Flint, a renal cancer survivor, has been outspoken in the need for free healthcare for those impacted by the derailment as well as more extensive environmental testing. She has made trips to Washington, D.C. to advocate for the derailment victims and has repeatedly called on President Joe Biden to make a Presidential Disaster Declaration for East Palestine and the surrounding areas.