Cardin residents say they want to stay put

(Cardin-AP) -- Residents in the small Ottawa County town of Cardin say they want their town to remain where it is.

About 100 of Cardin's 126 residents attended an informal meeting Tuesday night to discuss the possibility of moving the town.

Seventy-six of those at the meeting said they want their town to stay where it is.

John Sparkman is director of the Picher Housing Authority and a member of the Picher-Cardin school board. Sparkman has suggested that money targeted to environmental cleanup in Picher and Cardin should instead be used to move both towns.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has spent about 20 (M) million dollars during the past four years removing lead from contaminated yards in Ottawa County.

Another 26 (M) million dollars is expected to be spent on the next phase of yard remediation. Picher residents are divided on the issue.