Fw: NIGHTLINE: Our Town

[Guest guest]

: TONIGHT'S SUBJECT: There is a town in Oklahoma, an old mining town, that

: is now paying the price for years of pollution. The town is surrounded by

: small hills, actually quite pretty. But the hills are all toxic byproducts

: of decades of mining. It's so bad that there is talk of moving the entire

: town. And at the end of the email, a note about the future of Nightline.

:

: This story actually came about when the news director of one of our

: affiliates called to tell us about a story that he thought was pretty

: good. I was amazed when he told us about the town of Picher, Oklahoma.

: When Nightline correspondent Donvan and his producer, Elissa Rubin

: returned, I looked at their pictures. The hills around the town are

: actually quite scenic. That is, until you realize what those hills are

: made of. This is the flat part of Oklahoma. There are no hills. These are

: man made, the chaff left over from the mines. You'd think that there

: wouldn't be any question about whether or not to leave. Why would anyone

: stay in such a forsaken place? But many families in the town don't want to

: go, they are afraid of losing that sense of community, the ties that bind

: them all together, if they are relocated somewhere else. And to preserve

: that, many are willing to live with the environmental and health risks. In

: the end, this is a story not just about the impact man has on the

: environment, it's a story about friendship.

:

: I don't want to give short shrift to tonight's subject, it really is a

: wonderful broadcast, and I encourage all of you, as I always do, to join

: us tonight. You won't be sorry. But this is a difficult day for all of us

: at Nightline, the first, I fear, of many difficult days to come. Last

: night we learned that the New York Times was going to report that ABC is

: in negotiations with Letterman to come to ABC, replacing Nightline

: at 11:35. This came as a complete shock to all of us. Ted has returned

: from what was to have been a long weekend, but to this point, no executive

: from ABC or Disney has spoken to him. I know that all of you care deeply

: about Nightline, or you wouldn't have signed up for the email, but for

: now, we are going to let our work speak for itself.

:

: I normally sign all these notes with just my name. But today, and I think

: from now on, I will sign them all on behalf of the entire Nightline staff.

: Some names you know, some names you'll never hear. But we are all members

: of a team, and I couldn't be prouder.

:

: Friday, March 1, 2002

:

: The Nightline Staff

: Nightline Offices

: Washington, D.C.

:

:

: -----------

: If you have questions or comments regarding this message or a recent

: " Nightline " broadcast, please do not hit reply; simply click on this link

: to send your message directly to the " Nightline " staff:

:

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/nightline/Nightline/Nightline_email_form.html

:

: Or log on to the new " Nightline " Message Board:

: http://boards.go.com/cgi/abcnews/request.dll?LIST & room=nightline

:

: Chat with " Nightline " guests and find articles, transcripts and video

: excerpts on our Web site at:

: http://abcnews.go.com/Sections/Nightline/

: