Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published February 16, 2023 9:18 A.M.

(East Palestine, Ohio) A massive crowd showed up at the town hall meeting at the East Palestine high school gym last night, with a line forming going as far as the eye could see. Beaver County Radio spoke to residents waiting in line to find out what their concerns were, and audio of their answers can be heard below. As the meeting got underway, East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway announced that a group of people within the evacuation zone, forced to leave their homes will receive $1000 checks as a start of the recovery process. Some residents did not seem happy with this response, and the mayor said that there will be more aside from this. It was not clearly stated who was issuing these checks. Mayor Conaway and experts stressed that according to their tests, the water and air is safe for resident. Wells will be installed to monitor any currently undetected contamination that could arise. The mayor was questioned about Norfolk Southern absence from the meeting, and he went on to explain that even though, they reorganized the meeting to better fit their preferences, they called and said they felt unsafe to attend. The mayor assured that there would be more meetings in the near future.
Public concerns audio:

Video:

East Palestine Mayor, Trent Conaway, speaking to media during the event