Announcement from organizers:
ASHEVILLE — This Valentine’s Day, area residents and friends will call on CTS officials to “have a heart” by immediately cleaning up all the poisons the corporation left in Arden decades ago.
POWER Action Group will deliver signed Valentine’s cards, video messages and a petition with more than 1,200 signatures to CTS officials asking them to show Asheville a little love by doing the right thing by our community.
The public is invited to take part in a family-friendly event from 4-6 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Skyland/South Buncombe Library to create their own messages to CTS, including letters, cards and video post cards.
POWER Action Group was established in August 2012 by concerned community members to represent the interests of people who live near the CTS of Asheville Superfund site.
“The goal of this day of action is to call attention to CTS Corp., which is still an extremely profitable multimillion dollar company, and the fact that they have not yet done the right thing to clean up the mess they left in our community,” said Amber Ukena of POWER Action Group. “While the message may initially seem lighthearted, we are very serious about looking for creative ways to pressure and advocate for CTS and the EPA to clean up the CTS site fully and quickly and protect our community’s health.”
CTS closed its Asheville facility in 1986, but left tons of trichloroethylene (TCE) and other chemicals buried in the ground. These carcinogens are infiltrating the air, soil and water.
To safeguard human health and the environment, POWER is advocating for removal action, paid for by CTS Corp., which is still operating in Elkhart, Ind., nicknamed “The City with a Heart”.
To add your name to the petition or to participate in the “Show a Little Love” campaign, visit: http://poweractiongroup.org, on Facebook at /CTSAsheville or email info@POWERactiongroup.org.
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