(The Associated Press circulated the following article by Katrina A. Jackson on May 21.)
GRANITEVILLE, S.C. — Graniteville community leaders will dedicate a memorial today, remembering those who were killed during a train derailment and the workers who responded to the disaster 16 months ago.
But the 11 a.m. event also will be a reminder of the state funding organizers say was promised for the memorial but never delivered.
“We were told in the beginning there was $340,000 appropriated from the state for the Graniteville disaster relief fund,” said Graniteville-Vaucluse-Warrenville Volunteer Fire Chief Phil Napier. “And we were told some of that was to go toward the memorial. That never happened.”
The $30,000 triangular-shaped memorial lists the names of the nine victims who died after a Norfolk Southern train slammed into a parked train. The crash ruptured a chlorine tanker and released a toxic cloud over the mill town. Hundreds of people were injured, and roughly 5,400 residents were evacuated.
The memorial was mostly funded through private sources, including money raised through the sale of T-shirts, Napier said. Aiken County Council donated $500, he said.
Local religious leaders and disaster survivors will speak during the ceremony, but state officials weren’t asked to say anything, Napier said.
“We don’t want this to be a political opportunity for anyone,” said Napier, who along with his firefighters, was one of the first to respond. “We feel like the purpose of this is to honor those who lost their lives. We don’t want it to be used for any political press. It’s not a show-and-be-seen type of event.”
State funds have been sent to Aiken County in quarterly $85,000 checks, but the county has not decided how to spend the money.
Rep. Roland Smith, R-Langley, said the money was always earmarked for law enforcement.
“I was trying to help by asking for some money to reimburse the community,” said Smith. “Any time you have money coming to the county it’s going to help all the community.”