EAST PALESTINE — When Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw met with local media during a roundtable on Thursday afternoon, he said he wanted to hear from the people of East Palestine.

Later in the day, Shaw got that chance when he attended the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s resource open house at East Palestine High School.

“I do feel for him. It’s a big job. I am glad he is staying here and taking care of the job,” Amy Yates said after speaking to Shaw. “I thanked Shaw for not leaving us and taking on the job and trying to fix the problem — and he asked if there was anything he could do for us.”

Yates and her husband, Michael, were a few of the East Palestine residents who spoke one-on-one with Shaw at the open house before the railroad CEO left for another open house at the Darlington Township Volunteer Fire Department in Pennsylvania. The open houses are among a continuing series of local meetings following Norfolk Southern’s fiery Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine.

“Of course, everybody is scared, and nobody knows what the future is going to be,” Yates said. “Luckily, we haven’t experienced any health problems or symptoms (from the derailment), but we just moved here in November. It’s the very first house we ever bought in our life. We got all of our life’s savings in it. It’s been hard on a lot of people for different reasons.”

Shaw addressed property value concerns. He said Norfolk Southern is structuring a fund to help remedy any property value loss and equated it to a market analysis. Shaw also said funds are being structured to deal with any long-term health effects and long-term water monitoring.

“I do think he’s trying,” Yates added. “But there’s a lot of things to be done and I just hope he sticks around and does them. I hope he means what he says.”

Shaw is adamant that he does.

“I’ve said it countless times. I am going to see this through,” he said. “I am going to be here today. I am going to be here tomorrow. I am going to be here a year from now, and I am going to be here five years from now. We are going to do the right thing for this community.”

The open house allowed the public to talk to representatives from Norfolk Southern, companies contracted by the railroad to assist in both the cleanup efforts and monitoring, the Columbiana County Board of Health, Columbiana County Mental Health, the EPA and others.