By HELEN FIELDING
Staff writer
The Cooperstown community is coming to the aid of the small community of East Palestine, Ohio, in the aftermath of the train derailment that occurred just more than a month ago.
Until March 18, several churches and a business in the Cooperstown area will be collecting water, or monetary donations to purchase water, that will be sent to East Palestine later this month.
“We’re going to take the water over to them the following Monday,” said Frank Shorts, of Cooperstown, who started the drive.
Shorts, whom most locals know as “Ernie,” said doing something for East Palestine had been “on my heart,” and so, on Sunday, he asked his church, the Donation Hill Bible Church in Cochranton, if it would be willing to participate in a water drive.
The church responded to the request. Since then, several other churches in the area have started taking up water collections to add to the drive, as well as the Farmer In The Dell restaurant in Cooperstown.
“Ernie is a good customer of ours, and he approached us to ask if we could be a drop-off spot, or if people didn’t want to drop off water — because those cases of water can be heavy — if they wanted to donate money, could we keep a jug,” said Jessica Kennedy, who owns Farmer In The Dell with her husband, Jason.
Kennedy said the store does a car cruise fundraiser for a local family every summer. If there is help needed in the community, such as after a fire, sometimes the store will put a jar out, as well.
“We’re the only little store in Cooperstown besides the gas station, so I guess we’ve become quite the community center,” she said.
So far, she said, the water drive has had a good response at the store from the community.
“People are walking in and donating money, and then we decided we would join up with them, and for every large pizza we sell from now to the 18th, we’d donate $1 to them to help,” Kennedy said. “I think it’s going to become quite a big thing if it keeps going.”
She said the money donated will be used to purchase water, and then Shorts is organizing vehicles to take the water to East Palestine.
Shorts said, based on what he had heard, the water drive was doing well at the churches, as well.
“We got a pretty good community here,” he said. “God put (the water drive) on my heart. We’re in this all together. I think that’s our purpose on Earth here, to help people out; do God’s work, I guess.”
