Over 200 West Virginians At State Capitol Demand Answers

Some 200 angry but peaceful West Virgnians gathered on the steps of the state capitol building in Charleston Saturday in the cold to send one main message to their elected leaders: “We want answers.”

Carrying signs, such as “Prosecute the Poisoners” the group called the protest out of desperation in light of the chemical spill state of emergency.

A leaked chemical, “Crude MCHM” from Freedom Industries tank has poisoned 100,000 homes and impacted 300,000 people.

People are sick. People are injured. They want answers that officials say they do not have.

‘People are sick, animals are sick. The water is now a blue goo at one friends house,” explains Missi-Tracy Pauley on Facebook. “Where are the rights our men and women fight for? Where are the promises the elected officials gave? Where are their morals? There are people in our state that can’t continue to survive this way. Why are these people any less important than the ones sitting in the capitol?”

Carrying signs and determined to have their voices heard, people organized Saturday’s protest on Facebook. Their new page on the social media site is called, Demand answers about our water supply.

“I am going been real sick from all this. [F]lushed yesterday 8 hrs was already having problems got up and couldn’t breath,” wrote Anna Maria Gaynor said on the new Facebook page.

The public was advised that the chemical, 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol, “Crude MCHM,” is an irritant, should not be ingested or inhaled, body contact should be avoided, and it should not be used for washing, although it is safe for flushing toilets.

The public was advised to not drink or bathe in the tainted water until experts deemed the water was safe. When it was deemed safe, the public was told to flush their water systems.

Then many people experienced typical signs of having been poisoned such as dizziness, stoamch complaints, rashes and “burns”.

Many are saying that they will not drink the water or pay their water bill until the water is safe for pregnant women and children.

They cannot escape the poison in the air, although some are carrying protective gear.

Others appear to have started a new business, marketing ”Licorice water, straight from the tap.”

“I spoke with him and asked him to look into seeing if the WIC Program could not cover the cost of Bottled Water for infants and pregnant women in West Virginia,” said David McMann White.

“MLK day is upcoming,” Pauley stated. “He spoke for equality. He believed that all were created equal. Not just black and white, but all people. How are we the people not as important as those higher ups. It is a job they hold. An elected job at that. What gives them the right to deem [the water] is safe if they are unwilling to drink or bathe in it?”

West Virginians have also created a petition on Change.org’s website to be delivered to Jeffrey McIntyre, President, WV American Water and The WV American Water Company:

We won’t drink WV American Water until it’s safe for everyone

Petition by Stacy Gloss

It is WV American Water’s responsibility to ensure that its drinking water is safe for every one of its customers. We are boycotting drinking WV American Water until levels of crude MCHM are reported at undetectable levels with the best testing practices available and results made public on the WV American Water website. Until the water is safe for pregnant women and all other at risk populations, we will not drink the water.

How did they think we would respond to this horrific event?  People say we are rednecks…Well i say that may be true.But we are not stupid. We will fight for our families and friends harder than most.

“I saw the article where that comedic reporter made a statement about inbreeding. I have seen posts about our state being dumb and uneducated. Well, here is my response.  I am not do i know anyone who is inbred. Some are self-educated, some are under educated.

But we are family oriented, passionate, caring people. We live full and love hard. How many large cities can you go to [where] someone [will] invite you in and feed you and give you shelter when in need? Not many.

People are moving too fast and living simply for the dollar. Not the love of each other.I cant think of one place I would rather be. I am home.

Remember that it dosent take a well educated person to know right from wrong. It only takes a heart. Something our government is lacking. But only we can change that. We put them there, in that job. We can take them out of it.

Love your neighbor. Help where you can. As long as we stand together. We will survive this and anything else. I know I will still be giving out water and showers and anything else that is needed.

Not because I am told to. But because I want to, and it is the right thing to do..

Photo Credits: David Stephenson, Demand Answers about our water supply, Facebook