EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — “I don’t feel safe in this town now. You took it away from me. You took this away from us.”
That was the message from Jim Stewart of East Palestine during a CNN town hall Wednesday in which a panel of residents were given the opportunity to address Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw nearly three weeks after the Ohio train derailment.
“You seem like a sincere man. I’m not calling you names, but your company stinks because they’re not watching what’s going on,” Stewart said in the CNN town hall. “Workers don’t pay attention nowadays. Supervisors make workers work. You’ve got to do something about this. I’ve lost a lot. I lost the value of my home.”
You can watch a portion of the CNN town hall in the player below:
Stewart, who told Shaw he’s angry about the situation, also addressed his health concerns after the derailment and chemical release.
“Did you shorten my life now?” he asked Shaw during the CNN event. “I want to retire and enjoy it. How are we going to enjoy it? You burned me. We were going to sell our house. Our value went phoom [gestures downward]. Do I mow the grass? Can I plant tomatoes next summer. What can I do? I’m afraid to. It’s in the air. Every day I cough.”
Stewart, who says he has lived in East Palestine for 65 years, said he doesn’t call the incident a derailment. He’s labeling it as “Norfolk’s disaster.”
Shaw then gave the following response:
“Thank you for those comments. I hear you. I’m terribly sorry that this has happened to this community. What I can do, and what I will do, is make it right. We’re going to get the cleanup right. We’re going to reimburse the citizens. We’re going to invest in the long-term health of this community. I’m going to see this through. We’re going to be here. We’re going to work with these community leaders to help it thrive. I think you heard the mayor talking about making this community even better, and that’s what I’m picking up as I’m talking to community leaders and citizens. We’re looking for ideas from the community on where we can help and things that we can do.”
When one person asked Shaw if Norfolk Southern would buy out houses of the impacted residents, he replied: “We’re going to do what’s right for this community. That’s my commitment.”
The train derailment has captured national attention since the Feb. 3 incident. Former President Donald Trump visited East Palestine on Wednesday. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg arrived for a visit on Thursday.