GRANITEVILLE --- Louisiana W. Sanders says she's seen her community come back since the deadly chlorine spill of a 2005 train crash.

The group she formed, the Graniteville Community Coalition, has been there to offer residents a helping hand, offering health screenings and pushing development possibilities in a town where many mill workers lost jobs.

Now Ms. Sanders' group wants to secure grant money for a health clinic and is preparing to offer another community health fair Aug. 8 at Canal and Aiken streets in downtown Graniteville.

"What we're hoping to do is kind of bring everybody together and really kind of make it light," Ms. Sanders said. "It's showing where Graniteville has kind of come back and taken care of itself and is hopefully a viable place."

Since the train crash, after which nine people died, Ms. Sanders said her group applied and received a grant to educate the community on the effects of the chlorine release on health and property. There also was a health screening for those who suffered problems from the chlorine, she said.

The upcoming health fair will offer more screenings, as well as games for children and free food donated by fire departments and others, she said.

"We're trying to just see how people are and give them something fun to do along with the health screening," she said.

Ms. Sanders said her group has been working with Dr. Erik Svendsen, an Arnold School of Public Health researcher with the University of South Carolina. The goal, she said, is "to see if we could get more (grant) funding for more screenings and to prove if we need a health clinic in the area."

Dr. Svendsen has been studying the long-term health of those near the train crash site.

Ms. Sanders says a recent plan to revitalize several mills in the area has her encouraged.

The goal of community and government leaders, made public in May, is to use federal stimulus money and other contributions to have mills in Graniteville, Vaucluse and Warrenville assessed, cleaned and transformed into mixed-use developments with retail, housing and office space. It could take 10 to 15 years, but more than 500 jobs could be created.

Reach Preston Sparks at (803) 648-1395, ext. 110, or preston.sparks@augustachronicle.com.