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Rest of Construction Debris near Signal Set for Clean Up
EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio -- By the end of this week, the Cibula farm near Signal should be rid of what's left of the construction debris that spilled there March 8 when a train derailed, the Columbiana County Port Authority learned Monday night.To bring that about, the port authority board agreed to split the $5,000 tab with the Central Columbiana & Pennsylvania Railroad (CCPQ) to pay R.L. Houlette Industrial Service Co., Lisbon, for the work.A CCPQ train was transporting a load of construction debris to A&L Salvage Inc., Lisbon, when a gondola left the tracks near Signal and spilled debris on the farm of Jim and Lisa Cibula Houlette's work includes repairing a fence that separates the Cibula farm from the tracks and cutting up and scrapping the gondola.Cause of the derailment remains unknown, port authority Chief Executive Officer Tracy Drake said. "To this day we don't know what caused it. The rails on both sides [of the track] had been rehabilitated," he said, or replaced since the CCPQ took possession.The short line railroad will have to be closed to all traffic from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, possibly the rest of the week, the hours the Houlette workers will repair the site. That's because Houlette is not certified by the federal railroad administration, Drake explained. But that's all right, he continued, because the CCPQ trains make most of their deliveries late in the afternoon or early evening.It should take three days at most to finish the work begun shortly after the derailment, Drake said. The certified company could not complete the work because of wet ground. Certified contractors are in such demand that the firm originally contracted hasn't had time to return."They cleaned up the easy stuff," Drake reported, "about two-thirds of the spill, but they couldn't get close enough to the gully. They said they'd come back when it's drier." The CCPQ hired the certified contractor the day the spill occurred, Drake reported. Five truckloads of debris at most remain to be collected, he went on.The Cibulas have been patient and understanding, Drake said, "but we're not willing to wait any longer." The clean up work "needs to be done so we're stepping in to help out." At the request of John G. Sayle, chairman of the Columbiana County Airport Authority (and also the chief executive officer of Hall China Co.), the port authority appropriated $16,784.36 toward the airport's taxiway project. The local match requirement of $25,784.36 was set in 2002, Sayle reminded the port authority when it agreed to contribute to that match. The other $9,000 will be paid from "other sources," Sayle said.The Ohio Department of Transportation delayed funding in both 2002 and 2003, releasing funds so late that asphalt plants had shut down both years, hence Sayle's belated notice, he explained. Ohio's "significant budgetary problems" contributed to the delays, Sayle wrote. The port authority also agreed to pay $500 to the heirs of Grace M. Wilson for a small lot in Wellsville bordering the Intermodal Industrial Park so it can be incorporated into the park. The lot, No. 189 in Clark & Michael's 5th addition to the village of Wellsville, sits in a flood plain. Visit the Columbiana County Port Authority at www.ccpa-ohioriver.com"