Firefighters using carnival to raise money for Gulfport, Miss.
August 31, 2006
BY SYDNEY SCHWARTZ
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
WOODBURY - A year after Hurricane Katrina, local carnivalgoers will help to rebuild Gulfport, Miss.
BY SYDNEY SCHWARTZ
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
WOODBURY - A year after Hurricane Katrina, local carnivalgoers will help to rebuild Gulfport, Miss.
The Woodbury Volunteer Fire Department will collect non-perishable food items in the bed of an old fire truck at this weekend's annual carnival that it will donate to the town of Gulfport next month.
Department members decided last year to donate Engine 6 to a hurricane-devastated town after an apparatus survey found the town had one too many trucks. The department spent $3,000 from money it received through carnivals and other fund-raisers to purchase a new engine for the truck they'd used since 1980. It has taken about a year to get the truck up and running, and to find a department interested in the donation.
Woodbury's volunteers hope to pick up the refurbished engine from Gowens and Knight Co. in Watertown this week, collect donations this weekend, and drive it to Mississippi at the end of September.
"Hopefully we'll fill the bed with non-perishable items at the carnival, and then we'll take it to the firefighters down there that lost everything," Fire Chief Janet Morgan said.
The carnival will run today and Friday from 6 to 10 p.m., and Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. at Hollow Park, just off Route 6. Rides are $20 a night. On Saturday, there will be fireworks at 9 p.m., and a raffle drawing at 9:15 p.m. A few additions this year include a new "Shoot the Geek" game involving a paintball gun, and a dunk tank run by Nonnewaug High School cheerleaders. At its beverage stand, the Woodbury Ambulance Association will distribute "Viles of Life," plastic tubes with medication and personal information that people put in their refrigerators, so EMTs have details immediately when they arrive at a scene. The association will donate its profits to the Woodbury Food Bank, said Assistant Operations Officer Steven Grudzien.
About 98 percent of fire department members participate in the carnival, which raises money for items that don't make it into the town budget.
One year, the department raised funds for leather boots, and another year for flashlights. For the last few years, the department has also spent additional money on fireworks for carnivalgoers.
"We try go give back to the community, so we don't have to request everything from the town budget," Morgan said. "Everybody's really excited about getting down there."
Department members decided last year to donate Engine 6 to a hurricane-devastated town after an apparatus survey found the town had one too many trucks. The department spent $3,000 from money it received through carnivals and other fund-raisers to purchase a new engine for the truck they'd used since 1980. It has taken about a year to get the truck up and running, and to find a department interested in the donation.
Woodbury's volunteers hope to pick up the refurbished engine from Gowens and Knight Co. in Watertown this week, collect donations this weekend, and drive it to Mississippi at the end of September.
"Hopefully we'll fill the bed with non-perishable items at the carnival, and then we'll take it to the firefighters down there that lost everything," Fire Chief Janet Morgan said.
The carnival will run today and Friday from 6 to 10 p.m., and Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. at Hollow Park, just off Route 6. Rides are $20 a night. On Saturday, there will be fireworks at 9 p.m., and a raffle drawing at 9:15 p.m. A few additions this year include a new "Shoot the Geek" game involving a paintball gun, and a dunk tank run by Nonnewaug High School cheerleaders. At its beverage stand, the Woodbury Ambulance Association will distribute "Viles of Life," plastic tubes with medication and personal information that people put in their refrigerators, so EMTs have details immediately when they arrive at a scene. The association will donate its profits to the Woodbury Food Bank, said Assistant Operations Officer Steven Grudzien.
About 98 percent of fire department members participate in the carnival, which raises money for items that don't make it into the town budget.
One year, the department raised funds for leather boots, and another year for flashlights. For the last few years, the department has also spent additional money on fireworks for carnivalgoers.
"We try go give back to the community, so we don't have to request everything from the town budget," Morgan said. "Everybody's really excited about getting down there."
Comments