It was a brisk and beautiful night in early February when Kevin Baker, owner of Baker’s Golden Dairy, went out to the barn to take care of his cows.
As their feed was mixing, the seasoned dairyman recalled leaning back in his tractor seat, looking up at the stars and thinking what a cold, clear night it was. Then suddenly, out of seemingly nowhere, there was a ground-shaking explosion that shattered the still, dark sky, momentarily changing its color to fire orange.
Stunned as he looked east, Baker called his wife and told her he thought a bomb had been dropped on East Palestine, five miles away. Then he watched as a large plume of black smoke emerged from the wreckage, throwing chaos into the formerly quiet night. Within moments sirens were heard coming from everywhere.
The Norfolk Southern derailment dominated news cycles for days after 38 cars on a freight train, 11 of them carrying hazardous materials, derailed in rural Columbiana County near the Ohio and Pennsylvania state line in northeast Ohio.
The few days that followed were nerve wracking, as evacuation orders were issued within a mile of the derailment, while shelter-in-place was the order for folks one to five miles away. A controlled detonation of the remaining toxic materials commenced three days after the initial derailment.
The community was on edge, and the national news media was on 24-hour watch in the little village of less than 5,000 residents.
And Columbiana County Farm Bureau member Baker still had to take care of his cows.
Asking questions
In the immediate moments after the derailment happened there were challenges farmers in the area faced that others did not. For example, one farmer had livestock across the track that needed to be moved but he couldn’t get to them. There were soil, water, crop and livestock health worries to deal with, on top of personal concerns for general welfare. Ohio Farm Bureau, OSU Extension in Columbiana County and the county’s Soil & Water Conservation District sprung into action in several different ways.
Pete Conkle, district program coordinator with Columbiana Soil & Water Conservation District added that crisis training just took over when the derailment happened.
“You lean into that training,” he said. “You prioritize for things such as how to move livestock. You come in with a calm plan of action.”
The days and weeks after the train derailment were filled with uncertainty, and the impact that had on area farmers was profound. It was critical for them to know as soon as possible if the impact of the event would be temporarily or permanently detrimental to their livelihood.
Source: ofbf.org
Photo Credit: istock-alarich
Categories: Ohio, General