To the editor:

This letter again is about the February 3rd train accident in East Palestine although it might be slightly different than some others. My family has lived in East Palestine for a long time and I chose to raise my children here after living away during their early years because of the sense of community and family.

I want to say thank you to all who have been involved in this tragic event from the beginning. Thank you so much to ALL the first responders who came to help the night it happened not knowing what they were responding to. Thank you to the ones who worked for countless hours in the days afterward to make sure we were safe and out of harms way. Thank you for giving up family time, sticking around without knowing the dangers lurking and for caring enough about our little village. Thank you to our local government, who could never have imagined or ever been trained for this type of emergency, for guiding us through. Thank you to our state and federal government agencies and leaders, with the exception of the President, for helping us through this difficult time.

Thank you to our former President who checked on us and cared. Thank you to people across the country who have sent or delivered items to our town. Thank you to Chaney Wales with The Way Station, the Brightside Project, Brittain Motors, Abundant Life Church and the countless other people and organizations who have helped in big or small ways! This was an accident, one that probably could have been avoided, just like ALL accidents and I am not meaning to offend anyone or diminish anyone’s anguish, sickness or long term effects from this but I would also like to thank the countless men and women at the assistance center who have patiently and calmly processed many claims and dealt with a lot of anger and attitudes.

Lastly we need to think about ALL that the railroad themselves have done to help. They could have closed their doors and waited for lawsuits to happen, they could have turned their backs on our small community and let people accrue expenses until their lawsuits settled, left people without anywhere to go or turn, but they have chosen to do the right thing and are bending over backwards to help, so Thank you.

With social media, all I am seeing most of the time is criticism and complaining no matter what anyone does and that is not my East Palestine. My East Palestine is a town where we are thankful that no one died, the whole town didn’t burn to the ground, and that things are being cleaned and taken care of!! No, no one knows the long term effects this will bring but thankfully we are all still here. So thank you to everyone who has helped and is trying. Please know that there are people who appreciate everything that has and continues to be done.

Melissa Adams,

East Palestine