Anna and I couldn’t have been more different beyond our love of journalism and dedication to our chosen field. I grew up in a conservative family in the Midwest and became a born-again Christian at a young age. Anna hailed from the Northeast and was proud of both her liberalism and her Jewish faith. It’s fair to say we didn’t agree on much outside of the newsroom we shared every day, just a few desks apart. I had been at the newspaper for almost a decade when she came on board. I found out later there was some concern that we would clash.

“I think God is taking a moral stance that leads to Him caring for the poor and to remind us of our moral responsibility to care for the poor. It’s not just us giving them things when they need it, it’s about treating people as equals. When we treat people as equals, we want them to have the same privileges that we have. We don’t want them suffering from poverty. It’s about paying attention to the slaves rather than the wealthy.” 

It was just before 9 p.m. on Feb 3 when a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying toxic materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Thousands were evacuated and The Salvation Army in Salem, Ohio, sprang into action.