He edited his footage down to a two-minute video, which he argues provides vivid firsthand evidence that racism is alive and well in parts of the country. Feild, nevertheless, appears to have already arrived at a predetermined conclusion that those locations will be found to be free of any contamination. I didnt have anything to do with their money.. Its clean as a whistle, he repeats. "Hindsight would be wonderful," Lafser said. One daughter had cancer and endometriosis. The citys nearly 2,500 residents were divided about what to do next, whether to stay or to ask for a buyout of their property through the EPAs Superfund. The agency tested the incinerator to ensure that it was destroying dioxin. she asked. In the past, Jerry has also been known as Jerry Russell Bliss and Jerry R Bliss. There are many epidemiological studies that showed health effects in humans exposed to dioxins, says Dr. Hana Pohl, an environmental health scientist at the CDC. Trailers were tossed about like bumper boats. Finally, Dr. Renate Kimbrough, a CDC toxicologist, suggested testing for dioxin, the only dangerous hexachlorophene byproduct. "We had no authority to do anything until the Superfund law passed in 1980," Hedeman said. "Then the dioxin scare hit and most said they didn't want to fight it," said Charlie Stone, the park owner. The contaminated soil is being stored in a pile at the site and covered with a tarp. Once we receive the public comment then well be in the position to move forward with remedy selection. He carries a brown leather briefcase, packed full of documents, many of which he says are classified. Now, we might be veering slightly toward conspiracy territory, but again, Taylor shows restraint, making associations rather than accusations. It's fear of the unknown.". Everybody kindly watched after their kids, your kids, and everybody elses kids, she says. The mostly pleasant trails run north by the railroad tracks and then take a right along the river. Times Beach was founded, oddly enough, as a newspaper promotion. This time Teasdale made the plea with the TV news cameras rolling. Worst of all, Piatts two young daughters, who played in the arena as if it were a sandbox, fell ill. Doctors and veterinarians were stumped, but Piatt suspected the spraying was to blame. Russell Bliss was accused of picking up chemical waste from a plant in Verona in the early 70s, mixing it with used motor oil from service stations, and selling the toxic elixir to horse farms, churches, and small towns as a dust suppressant. "Is it in the houses?" WebThe Bliss site is an 11.5 acre tract owned by Jerry Russell Bliss, plus four contiguous properties near Ellisville, Missouri. no. He simply has questions, questions that he believes were left unanswered by the EPAs reluctance to be forthcoming. Her second husband died years ago, so she lives alone, unless you count her cat, Sarah Palin. According to a 1981 IEPA document, Piatt recalled that Bliss possibly obtained waste from Monsanto. The IEPA summary goes on to state: Judy Piatt has a diary and pictures of such activities, but will not release these to (EPA) Region VII on the advise of her attorney., But perhaps the most damning indictment comes from Bliss himself. Even if he had known that what he was hauling was toxic, there were no laws against what he did. "They'd tell me, 'You can't see it, taste it or feel it.' At the hearing on the matter, the DNR submitted two contracts between Monsanto and Russell Bliss dated 1975 and 1976, the time period in which Bliss is known to have sprayed Terre Du Lac. April 28 (UPI) -- A lost dog in Northern Ireland was found 26 days later after walking more than 40 miles to the home of his former owners. And despite McClellans best efforts to engender compassion for him, Bliss remains an unsympathetic character to those affected by his actions. Taylor thought that sounded like a bad idea, so he co-founded the Times Beach Action Group to oppose the incinerator. "I was only following orders, but I dream about it," he said. Each gap represents a former road. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. I will bet you two weeks pay there is no dioxin on your streets, she recalls Bliss telling her. ST. LOUIS -- Waste-oil hauler Russell Bliss, who allegedly sprayed dioxin-contaminated oil around the state in the 1970s, was sentenced Friday to one year in prison on unrelated charges of income tax fraud. Copeland made friends with a kid who went by the name Boner T. Bunch. Survived by Gregory Russell (Melissa McGuire), Barbara Russell, many family members and countless But when it marks the site of one of the nations worst environmental disasters, an embroidered-jean-jacket emporium can feel a little disrespectful. As a result of a lawsuit that Piatt filed against Bliss and the chemical companies, which eventually netted her family a healthy sum, Bliss was forced to admit his waste-hauling activity and identify the dozens of sites across the state where he had dumped it. Its a thermometer with one-liners painted across its face. She traveled the country to countless rodeos, barrel races, and team ropings, often with her husband and daughter by her side. A 74-year-old grandmother, Leistner looks 10 years younger and remains as feisty as ever, with no plans to retire. Within a couple of days, cats, dogs, and birds in the vicinity began to drop dead. Times Beach, which involved burning over 265,000 tons of dioxin contaminated waste from more than two dozen sites in eastern Missouri. chemical plant, where the EPA presumes all of the toxins originated. Wildwood residents originally voted to approve the creation of the municipality to control development, thereby ensuring that greenspace would be preserved. Bliss became wealthy spraying it across the state, and he even sprayed it on his own farm, which he would have avoided had he known it was toxic, he has said. Man, I loved living down here, he says. In the short term, the federal agency has settled for containment and fencing off the contaminated areas. No. She sent a petition with hundreds of signatures to President Ronald Reagan, asking for a buyout. The park is nice enough. (Despite repeated requests, the agency was unable to comment for this story. Sometimes its just best to leave well enough alone.. Everyone in attendance says that if the town were reopened tomorrow, they would move back in a heartbeat. She is survived by her devoted husband of 36 years, Jerry Bliss; her loving daughter, Hannah Bliss; her siblings, Paula Wohldmann, Steve Hyink, Carrie Hyink, and Mary Rust; her father-in-law, Russell Bliss; and her brother-in-law, Cash Bliss. first published in the Riverfront Times (St. Louis), March 25, 1998 So do two of her granddaughters. Catching up with Mike Bliss. WebJERRY-RUSSELL BLISS, INC. is a Missouri Domestic Gen. Business - For-Profit filed on November 15, 1978. Bunch lived at Cape Cod, a little motel on the edge of town. Would any human being do that?, To be sure, Bliss views himself as a victim in all this. Dec 17, 1985) The court holds that the state Hazardous Waste Every year, former residents of Times Beach gather on the site to see old friends, tell stories, and inevitably shed a few tears. Another has a rare form of epilepsy. The area has been fenced off and excavated. Sometimes, its thought that people are asking for complete safety, complete security. A missing page, a missing date, a missing signature. When he resigned, Leistner became acting mayor. I think its unfair, unjust All my friends say that I was a scapegoat.. Theres plenty of parking, a playground, and lots of picnic tables. The version that the developer presented to Wildwood is pretty vague about what happened, Shea says. Taylors list of objections goes on and on. The paper had purchased the land from a farmer and rebranded it as a resort, a place for doctors from St. Louis to relax or catch a few fish on the weekend. Those who returned were instructed to leave, and anyone who hadnt was told to stay away. The more you smoke, the worse it is for your health. In the center of the park is a large mound where the contaminated houses were buried, since only soil was burned. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the National MS Society . That paved the way for final approval of the buyout. McClellan calls Bliss an intelligent and thoughtful man, and hes stayed in touch with the erstwhile waste hauler over the years. One residence has had to be evacuated because of interior contamination. She was one of a dozen witnesses called so far this week by attorneys for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, which has denied Jerry Russell Bliss Inc., Mr. Bliss's concern, the hazardous waste transporter license it needs to stay in business. February 13, 2022 1 Min Read. The EPA removed the remaining barrels in July 1983. Asked about Wurms criticism, Uhlenbrock says the developer was bent out of shape because he wanted the article to say that the Callahan property never had any dioxin or Russell Bliss on it. Uhlenbrock said he was unable to confirm whether dioxin had been found on the site or whether there was a Bliss connection to the property. It isnt necessary for the EPA to raid TBAGs files to find this information because the agency already has the original documents in its own archives. For information about the McDonnell Park and Lemar Drive dioxin sites, call Hattie Thomas, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator, at 1-800 223-0425. published in the Riverfront Times (St. Louis), Aug. 20, 1997. The highest measure of contamination found at McDonnell Park is 275 parts per billion (ppb). It remains a priority. One document that TBAG copied is a verbatim transcript of an interview conducted by an EPA official in 1980 at the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City. What Im going to ask is that they provide the citizens with some level of accountability, because we certainly arent getting it from the EPA and we shouldnt have to depend on the developer to provide it.. By visiting our site, you agree to our privacy policy regarding cookies, tracking statistics, etc. Pratt worked at the Marianist Retreat & Conference Center in Eureka, and the nuns donated ornaments. For four or five months, that site has been standing there idle. But the fire was rekindled, and the remaining soil was burned. At the moment, shes trying to find the spot where her house used to be, but with the flower garden gone, shes just not sure. Missouri's problem is different from New York's Love Canal, which Hooker Chemical used as a toxic dump for dioxin until it was discovered in 1978. 'Fog of bees' briefly interrupts PGA Tour's Mexico Open. Bliss has said he was not told the oil contained dioxin. People were attempting to determine if Russell died in the accident, which was suspected to be a motorcycle accident. Donna Lopers family moved to Times Beach when she was 6 months old. Again, it showed that the incinerator was safe, and again, Taylor found flaws in the testing procedure. The Registered Agent on file for this company is Evelyn J. Bliss and is located at 149 Strecker Road, Ballwin, MO 63011. The walls smelled. Additional dioxin that migrated off-site has been removed from the roadside and an area next to a nearby pedestrian walk. He operates a roadside attraction, a classic car museum in St. James, and he travels to flea markets. Jerry Russell Bliss, Age 66. aka Jerry Bliiss. Former company officials said their warnings were ignored. WebView the profiles of people named Jerry Russell. She lived there for a quarter century, until December 1982, at which point the town was thrown into what she calls the time of flood and dioxin. She has spent the past quarter century telling the Times Beach story. This is especially true for 2,3,7,8tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, which is the most toxic and the one found at Times Beach. Instead, she has learned the little she knows from the scant newspaper coverage afforded the subject. Anyone can read what you share. One of her adult sons has since contracted a lupus-like disease, says Jordan. The EPA has refused to reveal the list of alternatives prior to the publication of its EE/CAs, but according to Ellisville city manager Jeff LaGarce, the choices will likely include a technique called thermal desorption, an unproven process that allows the waste to be detoxified on site. Hammer, for example, wants "proof" that dioxin is dangerous or a fair-market price from the government for his property to move. "Nobody told me there was anything bad in it," Bliss told a St. Louis newspaper in December. The door was locked, and Burford stood in a second-floor conference room. They would write him a check., Rollins allegations have been corroborated to a degree by Judy Piatt, the one-time owner of Shenandoah Stables in Moscow Mill, Mo. Flood stage was 18.5 feet, and the water crested at nearly 43 feet. They conveniently avoid the giant ash pit. Defense attorney Charles Shaw said no decision had been made whether to appeal the sentence, which included fines totaling $8,000. Were going to have to weigh out a lot of factors. It was in Illinois and it had a big fence around it. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began warning people in low-lying areas that a severe flood was coming. Some streets here measured 100 parts per billion--100 times higher than the level the CDC considers dangerous. She took photos, dispatching them along with names of chemical companies and sites he visited to EPA and state officials in 1972. TBAG had opposed the project, saying it was unsafe to human health and the environment. WebJerry-Russell Bliss, Inc. v. Hazardous Waste Management Comm'n. (Burford would resign a month later, amid allegations of mismanagement of the Superfund program.). Our approach is not to destroy it, but to assure public exposure can be limited" to healthy levels. Her nine siblings have all lived healthy lives. Sitting at her dining-room table, gazing out across the hillside through her glass patio doors, she begins. Obviously I have to depend upon them to do their job and hope that we do ours.. If you were born and raised there, you grew up there, but then you moved there., On Saturday nights, she and her husband would get together with friends to play penny-ante poker. In his bid for re-election that year, Teasdale also made a campaign stop at the Bliss-Ellisville site to again ask for Monsantos assistance. Steve Taylor (at left) never lived in Times Beach, but he did spend time at one of the horse farms where Bliss sprayed. We feel confident that our investigations were thorough, that we have followed up on every lead that weve been made aware of. More than 150 beverages delivered to woman's home without explanation. Former Driver's Testimony, Mr. Lambarth, who in 1971 hauled some of the dioxin sludge from the Verona chemical plant and later sprayed Mrs. Piatt's arena and two others, said Mr. Bliss had told him, in reference to the Verona plant, to ''forget that we picked that place up.''. Byrne Builders Inc. to build Strecker Forest, 31 houses will be constructed on the 18.5-acre tract. WebIn his early life, Jerry Hicks had been a circus acrobat for two years in Cuba, and then, beginning in 1948, had toured for 20 years as a musician, master of ceremonies, and comedian. A deposition had been taken in a lawsuit that stemmed from the deaths of dozens of horses after the spraying of one of the arenas. Leistner (at right) remembers four churches and four taverns, a perfect balance. Well, no. Stranded bear rescued from Nevada tree using tranquilizer, tarp. WebJerry Russell Bliss, Age 66. These practices came to the EPA's attention in 1979 and Syntex entered into a consent agreement to clean up the sites. Tests show dioxin in the fish. He was making money coming and going. Among those who doubt the EPAs blanket endorsement is Tammy Shea, a Wildwood resident. If the city allows W.J. Taylor finds Feilds explanation incredulous. Then we left when they drug us out kicking and screaming, she quips. [1] [2] [3] Jerry Hicks died November 18, 2011, from cancer. Did Times Beach officials know their city was high on the list? Bliss could not be reached for comment. The new site also raises the specter that there may be an untold number of other contaminated sites waiting to be found. Its a difficult position for the city, says Joe Vujnich, Wildwoods director of parks and planning. This was hazardous waste It wasnt milk and yogurt.. After the flood, 40 residents at one trailer park vowed to go home again. In laboratory animals, dioxin causes cancer, birth defects, miscarriages, diseases of the nerves, kidneys, liver and even death at the lowest levels tested, a few parts per trillion in some cases. You know, hed give Gary (Lambarth) some of these old, old sex magazines. There are a lot of people I know who were exposed to the same stuff and moreand didnt., Today, the land that was once Times Beach has been turned into Route 66 State Park. Ironically, one of the sources of dioxin is incineration itself. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. The liquor store doubled as a tackle shop, selling rods and bait. Some, he spread across his own farm. Marilyn Leistner lives in a sturdy brick house on the top of a hill. Bliss, 49, is believed responsible for spreading much of the dioxin that contaminated at least 31 sites in central and eastern Missouri, including the St. Louis suburb of Times Beach. They include: Holiday Hill Amusement Park, Lindenwood College, McCarthy Brothers Construction Co., St. Charles Quarry and Terre Du Lac, a residential/lake development near Bon Terre, Mo. Natalies ashes will be spread in a private family ceremony at the barn, her favorite place on Earth. They found an artificial tree among the debris that the flood had deposited, so they loaded it into the back of a pickup truck and ran it through a carwash. Due to budgetary constraints, long-range solutions now under consideration include alternative technologies shunned by the EPA during the Times Beach clean up. The couples property is adjacent to the Bliss farm. He's mopped up the mud and moved back into his mobile home at the Easy Living Trailer Park with his wife and 5-year-old son. Bliss son still lives on a Strecker Road property once owned by his father, from which the EPA only a few years ago finally removed more than 900 Compelling evidence of Bliss misdeeds had been presented only months earlier as a part of the DNRs effort to prevent his son from being granted a hazardous waste haulers license. He was 91. The concern's application was denied in early 1981, but Mr. Bliss has continued operating pending the appeal hearing that began here Monday morning. As McClellan points out, Houk was the person who ordered it in the first place. She was loyal, selfless, honest, and witty. Sid Hammers wife didnt want to stay in Times Beach, but Sid didnt see anything wrong, Leistner says. Did it get into the water supply? They also had to spend several weeks working on the citys road crew. I didnt set the price, but its my fault. Jerry Lewis is, in spite of it all, still alive. Although Mr. Lambarth was subpoenaed as a witness for the state, his testimony tended to support Mr. Bliss's contention that at the time he picked up the dioxin wastes, he did not know they were hazardous. Wildwood currently zones the Strecker Road properties as nonurban, which requires a minimum lot size of 3 acres. Bliss worked as a Program Manager at Microsoft as well before being promoted to the Sales Operation Lead position at Nayamode. The carpet had to be torn out. No one can answer the questions the people of Times Beach are asking. Essentially, Hall is asserting confidence in the clean up before it has started. Its good to put a lot of thought into a process such as this, but when are we going to see some outcome? He was 87 years old. And since the buyout checks were so meager, the residents couldnt afford much, anyway. Leistner has four children, three girls and a boy. The offers were very low, so we got organized, Leistner says. Staff writer Dale Russakoff contributed to this report. "There may be as many as 70 Times Beaches," said a senior official of the Environmental Protection Agency's hazardous waste cleanup program. Wurm is referring to Tom Uhlenbrock, who first reported the Wildwood development plans in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on June 11. She compiled a list of where Bliss and his employees collected waste and where they disposed of it. Given these revelations and the luxury of six additional years of hindsight, the lack of prudence exhibited by the EPA and DNR at Terre Du Lac is indeed inexplicable. The Times Beach story began as a medical mystery in 1971 when Bliss was hired to dispose of 18,000 gallons of gooey, foul-smelling sludge from the defunct Northeastern Pharmaceutical & Chemical Co. in Verona. April 28 (UPI) -- The PGA Tour's Mexico Open was briefly interrupted when a swarm of bees sent a group of golfers ducking in the grass. A part-owner of a stable where 62 horses died after dioxin-tainted oil was sprayed testified today before the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Commssion that the man who sprayed the oil had told her it contained a special fly-killing ingredient. Downstream from the Verona plant, dairyman Bill Davis watched eight cows die after they drank from a river a half-mile from the factory where all Missouri's dioxin was once produced. Crystals used to make the antiseptic had been found in barn soil later used as fill dirt. P.O. The citys mayor, Joe Capstick, didnt like the sound of PCBs, and he needed to look out for his family, so he resigned and left. But what we want is a modicum of honesty.. But nobody from the federal agency has bothered to walk across the street and inform her about the purpose of these actions. Of particular note was a chemical plant in Verona, which had been used to produce Agent Orange and hexachlorophene, an ingredient used in soap. As with the gift shop, this would be a fine place to go running or maybe toss a Frisbee, if not for the memory of a community gone up in smoke. We continue to follow up on any information that is provided to us by the public.. He has a roadside attraction a museum of classic cars and trucks and various odds and ends, including Coke bottles of all ages and types. Bliss has said publicity about his spreading of dioxin to Times Beach and other areas forced him to turn over his waste-hauling business to his son, Jerry. She remembers the camaraderie. Houses were ripped from their foundations. Bliss, 48, who for years made his living hauling hazardous wastes and used oil from factories, has been quoted here as blaming a now-defunct pharmaceutical firm By mid-1982, the agency was making rounds on the farms and reportedly visited Times Beach as well, but still no one informed the town itself what had happened. We feel that our residents should not be subjected to having that site next to them for an excessive period of time., On the other hand, the director of the St. Louis County Parks and Recreation Department, expressed unqualified satisfaction with the EPAs handling of the McDonnell Park site. Back in 1982, she called Bliss and asked him, point-blank, whether he had sprayed Times Beach with dioxin.
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