Neighbor-Helping-Neighbor Day

From the Town of Tolland:

Many residents are continuing to suffer from the aftermaths of Storm Alfred. For our residents over 60 or those who are disabled the challenges of collecting and removing debris are all that much greater. Tolland has a history of helping others during times of need and that certainly was witnessed during the ten days that many residents were without power. Now we are asking that residents come together again to volunteer for a Neighbor helping Neighbor day on November 26th from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. This program is geared toward helping our seniors and disabled with the collection and disposal of fallen, loose and manageable brush. We need able bodied individuals, young and old, to volunteer their time to help. We need individuals with pickup trucks and small power equipment. We would love to see participation from scout groups, sports teams, clubs, church groups, civic organizations and the business community. The staging area for this event will be the High School parking lot. All volunteers will assemble at 8:00 am and safety instructions will be given as well as work assignments. Volunteers can give an hour of their time or all day. Lunch will be provided at the High School location.

Many communities are having to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to have this sort of collection handled by outside contractors. We, through our community spirit, are trying to show that Tolland residents can help out their own and in so doing provide a valuable service and save the Town from having to spend what are already limited available funds. Please remember we do have a drop off center for debris at Cross Farms Park and the burning permit requirement has been temporarily suspended. The more we can do to get our own debris taken care of the less we will have to expend as a community to address this concern. Residents should be aware that it will cost a significant amount to ultimately grind the over 200,000 cubic yards of debris already at the drop off center and to have it removed from that site.

To volunteer, please call 860-871-3600 from 8:00 am to 4:15 pm Monday through Thursday. If you are a senior or disabled in need of help, please call the same number. All calls for help should be made prior to November 23rd.