Above And Beyond The Call

To the Editor:

In wake of the recent storm last month, without a doubt each one of us can speak from personal experiences of damages and inconveniences we suffered. Yet throughout all the devastation and hardships there emerged many heartwarming stories of neighbors helping neighbors.

One such story is that of Senior Center Director Marilyn Place and Town Building Manager Bob Mcculloch. Marilyn made numerous phone calls and home visits in the days that followed to make sure that our senior population was safe, warm, and fed. When this was not the case, with the vital assistance of Bob driving the Senior Center’s recently acquired handicap accessible bus, the two Newtowners drove door to door picking seniors up and dropping them off at the designated shelter in town. When the emergency subsided, they brought them back home.

To the elderly, change is an especially fearful experience. But Marilyn and Bob made all these people feel safe and cared for on behalf of Newtown. Thank goodness for the many Marilyns and Bobs during the storm. And thank goodness for the new handicap accessible bus made available by the Senior Center!

Officer Maryhelen McCarthy

3 Main Street, Newtown                                         November 21, 2011