Longtime East Palestine resident forced to throw away 'memories' after train derailment
EAST PALESTINE, Pa. (KDKA) — A woman who has spent decades making memories in East Palestine, Ohio, has been forced to throw away precious items following the toxic train derailment.
For 62 years, 83-year-old Marlene Young has lived in East Palestine. Her home, which sits less than 1 mile from the derailment site, has always been her sanctuary. It is where she raised her family. But now she lives in fear.
"Just come in and help us," she said. "Please, come in and help us."
Inside her home, trinkets and pictures that up until a few weeks ago filled her home surround her. Some of it now fills her trash can.
"Those are my memories," she said. "What I'm having to get rid, some small things to some people but memories to me."
When she's not cleaning up what trains, controlled explosions and chemicals left behind, she's in her favorite chair and watching tv, listening to the big plans and promises from the big names and agencies she sees on TV. She hopes their words aren't empty like the walls around her.
"I've just been sitting tight waiting to hear good news every day," she said.
KDKA-TV's Erica Mokay: "Have you gotten any good news since the derailment happened?"
Young: "Not really. I get down. I sit here and think of what's happened. I cry. But it's just got to happen. We've just got to get back on our feet again and get through this together."