Approximately 200 people attended the cookout put on by Keene Sept. 2 to thank volunteers who helped with the town’s clean up of storm damage. Photo by Jon Hochschartner.
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Keene shows appreciation to volunteers
Keene put on a cookout Sept. 2 to show appreciation for all of the volunteers who helped with town cleanup efforts in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene.
Keene — The town put on a cookout Sept. 2 to show appreciation for all of the volunteers who helped with cleanup efforts in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene.
Approximately 200 people attended, according to town Supervisor Bill Ferebee. Keene’s game plan for the weekend was straightforward.
“We’re going to stay busy,” Ferebee said. “We’re going to continue to clean. We’re going to greatly appreciate all the help that we get. We’re going to move forward.”
Twenty National Guard troops were in Keene Sept. 2 and 60 more arrived Sept. 4, the supervisor said.
“Their focus is to clean up downed debris for private property owners, help clean out the rivers of the wood and trees,” Ferebee said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “Labor for Your Neighbor” program was initiated in the town Sept. 4.
“This is the governor’s issue,” Ferebee said. “He’s sending volunteers up here Sunday morning who are going to go to individual property owners and help them clean up their property.”
Town Councilmember Marcy Neville said the event was an opportunity for people to take a break from repairing the town.
“Everybody is pretty fried from shoveling mud and dealing with it all,” Neville said. “We have tremendous donations of food and we just decided to put on a cookout and give people a break.”
Neville encouraged residents who suffered damage from Tropical Storm Irene to fill out applications with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for individual and private enterprise assistance. Applications are available at the town hall and the hardware store in Keene Valley.
“It’s a relatively easy application to fill out,” Neville said. “You may be able to get money to pay for the damages that you’ve sustained.”
Neville was evacuated from her flooded home with the help of the state Department of Environmental Conservation during the storm.
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