Local News

Biz owner: ‘Good things are going to happen’

One look inside Tom Brittain's cluttered office, reveals his affinity for the past. Among the printed-out political jokes taped to walls, relics from yesteryears peek out -- an old photo here and there next to yellowed newspaper clippings chronicling his business' history in East Palestine.

There is also a calendar showcasing classic cars, the kind which Brittain likes to restore in his free time. But as much as Britain appreciates the past, he is looking toward the future.

"Good things are going to happen," he said. "They are happening right now. This town has a chance to be better than it ever was."

Brittain is known as many things around town -- a businessman, a champion of commerce, a philanthropist and, perhaps above all, a straight shooter.

When asked about last year's Norfolk Southern train derailment impact to area businesses, Brittain didn't pull any punches. Yes, it was a terrible thing. He acknowledged that but he also sees the disaster as an opportunity for an economic resurrection and East Palestine's resurgence.

"This is the town's chance," Brittain said. "We have a great opportunity because of a terrible thing. I don't want to squander that opportunity. We have the leaders in place to take advantage of what we've been given. We have a great chamber of commerce, we have a new city manager and we have a village council that wants to move East Palestine forward. This could be a gamechanger if we play our cards right."

The hand dealt to the village was a scary one. The fiery crash of 38 cars on Feb. 3 sent the village into chaos. Emergency response and a media circus flooded in. The days that followed brought life in the village to a halt --including businesses. The impacts the whole tragedy would wrought on the local economy were being weighed with worry.

A year later, those worries have waned and life has gone on. Businesses reopened -- some almost immediately after the derailment, others in the months that followed. Impacts were felt as the village fought to shake off the stigma that didn't dissipate with the smoke. Brittain and other business owners set out to change the narrative -- with the help of an unlikely ally.

From the very beginning of the ordeal Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw promised the railroad would make right its wrong. His message was clear and it has never wavered -- to make it right and help East Palestine thrive.

"Alan Shaw right there," Brittain said, pointing to a chair that keeps with the retro vibes of his office. "He sat right there and said he was going to make right and help this town get back on his feet. I believed him then and I still believe him. Some people think that's what he should do. The fact is he doesn't have to do it, but he is. "

So far, Norfolk Southern has made good what Shaw told Brittain with over $103 million invested back into the village.

Those contributions include projects to lure people back into the village like $25 million to overhaul the city park and another $25 million to build a regional first responder training center that will train emergency personnel from the entire East Coast.

Brittain sees the potential for Norfolk Southern to be what Firestone was to Columbiana.

"Years ago, we were a city and Columbiana was a village, but Columbiana took advantage of Firestone funds and recreated itself. The leaders did a good job of reinventing the community and now look at it," he said. "Now, we're a village and they are a city. We don't have Firestone, but we have Norfolk Southern."

The railroad has also been engaging with the economic stakeholders.

In November, village leaders met with local and state officials as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency recovery coordinator Jim McPherson and Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw to shift the focus from the environmental remediation to an economic recovery in the wake of the rail disaster. Norfolk Southern facilitated the economic development roundtable with the plan for participants of the roundtable to get back together early this year and continue the conversation with village businesses. The team is expected to deliver an executive summary in January that outlines what is needed to not only revitalize the village following the derailment but to resurrect it from the economic woes it faced long before Feb. 3.

The summary was described as a roadmap for stakeholders to follow and utilize East Palestine's strengths which were as diverse as its demographics. Mike Jacoby and Jeff Harris of Bricker Graydon, the economic development firm hired by the village through a $500,000 grant from the railroad, led presentations that discussed the initial assessment of the village's economic health and a theme of "live, work, shop, visit and recreate in East Palestine".

Prior to the round table, the railroad held a series of open houses of village businesses to give village proprietors a forum to share their struggles, voice their concerns and learn about assistance available to them by the railroad.

East Palestine has also received resources for resurgence from other allies.

In December, 18 East Palestine businesses became the first recipients of the East Palestine Emergency Support Program designed to provide zero-interest, forgivable loans to businesses to assist with ongoing expenses and recovery efforts associated with the derailment. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik reported a total of more than $3.3 million in forgivable loans as part of the program which began accepting applications over the summer.

The emergency support program allocated up to $5 million to assist East Palestine businesses and was created in partnership with the Ohio General Assembly with funds from the Controlling Board Emergency Purposes/Contingencies Fund.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced a new initiative to support small business and bolster economic development in the wake of Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in October.

The initiative -- a revolving fund in collaboration with Valley Economic Development Partners that offers up to $150,000 loans with interest rates as low as 1 percent to eligible East Palestine businesses -- was announced following a roundtable Brown held with State Director of Rural Development Jonathan McCracken and the Columbiana County Port Authority's Haedan Panezott and village business owners. Valley Partners will administer the loan to eligible businesses that have no more than 50 employees and revenues of $1 million and under.

The purpose of the initiative is to drive small business development and business start-ups by funding capital and equipment among other things.

It wouldn't be honest to say it's been all smooth sailing for East Palestine since Feb. 3. Some village businesses have closed in the wake of the derailment, but others have opened.

A short drive from Brittain's dealership, at the intersection of state Routes 14 and 170, Laura Cunningham and Brian Cunnigham, Jr. are busy preparing for the midday rush at Quality Meats. The family-owned, family-operated business is predominantly a butcher shop with a wide array of fresh products.

But it's also a deli and serves hot lunches. The store opened in November --eight months after the derailment. Initially, Laura, who along with her husband Brian Cunningham, Sr., also own Winona Frozen Foods, said they were looking to acquire a new business in the heart of East Palestine."

We wanted to buy Doyle Meats, but it was a little too far out of price range," she explained. "We knew we wanted to open another location and we wanted it to be in this area. After we were outbid for Doyle's, we just happened to see this building on the way home and here we are."

For Brian, Jr., it was an opportunity to build a business and help rebuild East Palestine in the process.

"We provide quality meat and good food, and we wanted to provide that to this community," he said. "We provide safe food. All our employees are ServSafe certified. The people here need a safe place to eat and a safe place to shop. This community is rebuilding and recovering. We are proud to be a part of that."

While the Cunninghams offered perspective as a new business just outside the village, Chris Page, the CEO of Threshold Residential Services offered reflections as an old business within East Palestine's village limits.

The nonprofit, which is "dedicated to providing individuals with developmental disabilities opportunities for personal growth, independence, and overall improved quality of life through programs, housing, direct care, and employment opportunities" owns and operates nine licensed residential facilities throughout Columbiana County.

Four of those homes are located in East Palestine. When the train derailed, all 21 of Threshold's East Palestine clients had to evacuate. Temporarily relocating clients was the challenge faced in the early days of the disaster. In the months that followed, lack of personnel became the issue as health worries lingered. However, a year removed from the crash, those concerns have eased.

"Really for us the big thing was the workforce. It was about seven months after the derailment that we were able to onboard new staff to care for our folks," Page said during a press conference with Sen. Brown earlier this week. "It has been several months since I've heard any concerns from our workforce about whether it's safe or not."

Like Brittian, Page feels the village has potential placed before it through the unlikely and unforeseen events of Feb. 3.

"We really look at this disaster as an opportunity that East Palestine really has never had so let's capitalize on this opportunity to be a better community, be a better village than we've ever been, and we are going to remain positive and remain resilient to the best of our abilities," he said.

Resilience has been a common theme throughout the recovery. Early on in the ordeal, signs peppered the lawns of East Palestine and plastered storefronts. The signs were demonstrations in solidarity and strength, reminding each other to be "EP Strong" and to not let the disaster "derail" the town. Some signs remain, but most have been pulled up and packed away, another indication that the village is moving past Feb. 3.

"The community at large is not only interested in restoring the village, we are interested in progressing and moving the village forward. We think our children and residents deserve that opportunity," Councilwoman Linda May said.

May has emerged as one of the most motivated local leaders advocating for East Palestine's economic growth and future development. May's advocacy has been action. She has been working hand-and-hand with the county port authority and the Ohio Rural Community Assistance Program (RCAP) to foster growth. As May the village's economic and finance chair, May has helped spearhead an envisioning survey-campaign and an Envision East Palestine workshop to receive feedback from business owners.

She is also a member of the East Palestine steering committee and the East Palestine Think Tank -- two groups dedicated to fostering economic growth in the village.

A bit of straight-shooter herself, May said life goes on and the village needs to as well.

"The accident happened. We acknowledge it, but we are not ready to cover ourselves in sackcloth and ashes," she said.

May also challenged the rhetoric that the derailment has had a detrimental effect on the village housing market and property values. That narrative suggests that the "EP Strong" lawn signs have been replaced with "For Sale" ones. That simply isn't true.

The amount of homes currently on the market in East Palestine nearly mirrors the numbers of previous years. What has changed is the speed in which those homes are selling.

"There's a lot of misinformation out there. For example, housing values in our community have improved," May said. "Realtors are looking for homes to sell. Homes are selling at above ask. Anything that hasn't sold, is way beyond what an appraisal would show."

May maintains East Palestine is moving in the right direction -- forward.

"There's been a lot of press given to the naysayers and people who are upset with various subsets and subgroups, but the majority of people in this community, and it is the majority, are very much interested in ' how do we build back our community and how do we build it back even better'."