Residents relieved and thankful
BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
MAHER, W.Va. — After residents voiced concerns in a Mountain Citizen story last week about an embankment slide under the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks in Maher, railroad workers started repairs at the site.
The slide, along U.S. 52 and just 15 yards from the Tug River, is near the Mountain View Memory Garden cemetery. Residents were worried that the slide could lead to a train derailment like the recent rail accident in East Palestine, Ohio, and others across the United States.
A retaining wall is being constructed at the site of the slide in Maher, where the tracks can easily be seen from the highway below.
Freight trains hauling tanker cars travel through the Tug Valley and the Williamson rail yard every day.
Many who travel the road were worried about a potential derailment as the Tug River is only a few yards away from the tracks. Residents felt that in the event of a train wreck, dangerous chemicals or fuels could leak into the river, a major water source for thousands of people living downstream, including Naugatuck, Kermit, Crum and Martin County.
NS senior communications manager for media relations, Connor Spielmaker Sr., told the Mountain Citizen last week that NS had checked out the situation in Maher after being alerted by the newspaper.
“It does not pose a threat to rail operations,” Spielmaker said. “Just as well, it is being repaired this week.”
Tug Valley resident Megan Varney-Chambers is one of the residents concerned about a potentially hazardous situation.
“I am beyond relieved that the slip is being addressed,” Varney-Chambers said. “This takes a huge worry from the minds of many in our area.”
Maynard said thousands of people who could have been impacted by a train derailment in Maher did not travel the road and were unaware of the threat.
“I honestly don’t think that anything would have been done had it not been for the Mountain Citizen getting the awareness and attention of this matter out to the public,” said Varney-Chambers. “Thank you for taking the time to read my messages, to look at the pictures I’d taken to see the possible danger in what others and myself were seeing – and for not hesitating to get this story out there and get the ball rolling with the railroad fixing this.”