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Schools open for parents to tour
Web posted Tuesday, January 18, 2005
By Karen Ethridge and Josh Gelinas
| South Carolina Bureau
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GRANITEVILLE - First-grader Jeremy Eidson clutched his mother's hand Monday as he quietly surveyed the familiar halls of Byrd Elementary School, which he hadn't seen for more than a week.
His mother, 34-year-old Sheila Eidson, said she just wanted to reassure Jeremy that it was OK to return to school.
"He was worried about his friend the most," she said. "For the first couple days, we watched TV a lot. But you never realize how much something like this affects these young people."
Jeremy was among more than 1,000 pupils at Byrd Elementary and Leavelle McCampbell Middle School who have been out of class since the Jan. 6 train crash and chlorine leak that killed nine people and sent hundreds more to hospitals.
Both schools were to reopen this morning.
Monday's tours were meant to put parents' minds at ease and show them there were no signs of chlorine.
"We're glad that school is going to add to the routine of 'business as usual,'" said Rosie Berry, the principal of Byrd Elementary. "School is a child's work and play, and it's important for them to have that routine."
Bill Gallman, the deputy superintendent for Aiken County schools, said all food in the schools' cafeteria freezers was thrown away in case any of it had spoiled. He also said that counselors and psychologists will be at the schools as long as they are needed to make the pupils feel safe.
Except for areas closest to the crash site, Graniteville was alive with activity Monday. Officials estimated that hundreds are still unable to return to homes in what is referred to as the "hot zone" around the crash site.
And the Aiken County Sheriff's Office planned to further collapse the evacuation zone today at 8:30 a.m., allowing residents who live between Canal and Gregg streets and between Taylor and Cottage streets to return home.
Officials said it's possible that businesses along Main Street south of Gentry Street also will reopen today.
Still, residents in about 50 homes closest to the wreck site, bordered by Canal, Gregg, Gentry and Cottage streets, can't return home until chlorine is completely drained from the remaining mangled tanker at the wreck site, according to an order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Salvage workers contracted by Norfolk Southern Corp. continued to transfer chlorine from that tanker Monday. Railroad officials remained unsure when the process would be complete.
"It's the nature of the process. It's slow," railroad spokesman Robin Chapman said. "I hate to be so vague, but we really don't know."
The two chlorine tankers that were damaged but not punctured have been emptied, cleaned and moved to Augusta for further inspection, Mr. Chapman said. The chlorine that was siphoned out of the damaged tankers also was taken by railcar to Augusta.
Except for draining the damaged tanker and ridding the wreck site of small amounts of debris, the cleanup is mostly complete, Mr. Chapman said.
Work at Avondale Mills, which lost six employees to the deadly chlorine gas, continued on a small scale at the company's Horsecreek, Swint and Townsend plants, spokesman Stephen Felker Jr. said. A limited amount of production will start today at the Gregg and Hickman plants.
Supervisors will contact workers who are needed, and the company will continue to pay employees who were scheduled to work but haven't because of the crash, Mr. Felker said.
"We will keep that up for the foreseeable future," he said.
"We're real optimistic. It's moving along."
Reach Karen Ethridge at (803) 648-1395, ext. 109, or karen.ethridge@augustachronicle.com.
Avondale Mills Employee Help
• Avondale Mills management maintains an information center from 1 to 5 p.m. at its administrative services building at 1089 Augusta Road, in Warrenville. Employees are asked to visit if they have any questions or concerns about their employment at Avondale.
• Company security will assist in retrieving employee vehicles from the Hickman and Woodhead parking lots as soon as the evacuation zone surrounding the crash site is reduced.
• Employees are asked to contact Avondale security between noon and 5 p.m. at (803) 341-0925. A safety expert will meet employees to check over their vehicles.
• Avondale's board of directors has established a fund for helping associates affected by the accident. Anyone interested in contributing can send checks payable to the Avondale Mills Disaster Relief Fund at P.O. Box 1109, Monroe, GA 30655.
STILL CLOSED
Freedman Parenting Center on Old Aiken Road in Graniteville will remain closed Wednesday.
More Community Information
SCHOOLS: Classes at Leavelle McCampbell Middle School and Byrd Elementary School resume today at their regularly scheduled times. Environmental agencies have conducted air quality and surface testing at both schools, which showed no signs of chlorine. School buses will run on a normal schedule as closely as possible. Pupils who arrive late will receive an excused absence.
RETURNING HOME: Residents living closest to the wreck site, between Canal, Gregg, Seastrunk and Cottage streets should call the Aiken County Planning and Development Office at (803) 642-1525 to schedule a free inspection of their home's plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems. Inspections are scheduled as follows:
• Wednesday: Canal Street to Gregg Street; Seastrunk Street to Gentry Street
• Thursday: Canal Street to Gregg Street; Gentry Street to Aiken Road
• Friday: Canal Street to Gregg Street; Aiken Road to Cottage Street
Repairs are being taken care of through the Norfolk Southern Claims Office at (800) 230-7049.
CURFEW: A 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew remains in effect for Graniteville residents in the following areas: Ascauga Lake Road and Gregg Highway to Aiken-Augusta Highway; Ergle Street to Mount Arthur Drive.
LOCAL ASSISTANCE CENTER: The Norfolk Southern assistance center is open today from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church on Barnwell Avenue in Aiken. On Wednesday, it will relocate to the former community services building on Ascauga Lake Road in Graniteville.
Special Section: Graniteville Train Wreck
On January 6, 2005, a Norfolk Southern Corp. freight train carrying chemicals hit a parked train near an Avondale Mills plant in Graniteville, South Carolina. The impact caused poisonous chlorine gas to leak from three of the moving train's cars. Nine people were killed and more than 5,000 people were evacuated from the site.
For complete coverage of the Graniteville train wreck, visit our special section.
--From the Tuesday, January 18, 2005 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle
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