The Vermont Relief Effort

To the Editor:

I would like to personally thank the residents of Newtown for their generous donations to the Vermont flood relief food drive. Ben Kugielsky and I flew food and other donated items to Vermont starting one week after the storm hit. We utilized Ben’s Grumman Tiger and our combined flying skills to deliver your donations to the people of Cavendish, Ludlow and Proctorville. During the course of three completed flights (out of four attempts), we delivered approximately 400 pounds of food and other goods. While most flights were routine, enjoying the beauty of the Northeast from the sky, one flight ended abruptly as an engine malfunction prematurely concluded our flight in a Massachusetts airfield. Pilots train for such episodes constantly and our training took over and I’m here to say we landed safely.

I am a snowboard instructor at Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow, Vt., at Jackson Gorge (I may have coached your child or even yourself if you have taken a lesson with us) and reside there on weekends and during holiday breaks. When I learned of the flood’s devastation I felt the urge to help the community I have a strong connection with and aviation provided the perfect platform to bypass the damaged infrastructure.

 If you plan on coming to Okemo or Ludlow, the local grocery store is still in a soft structure (tent) with the appropriate units for keeping food fresh. They do not carry as many goods as say Caraluzzi’s or Big Y and the closest grocery store is 30 miles away, so be prepared when you visit! Though this shouldn’t deter you from visiting this great laid-back ski town. Okemo and Ludlow still offer a great family and community setting worth getting away to.

Ben would like to personally thank Kyle Colasanto of Image Aviation Services for the rigorous emergency procedure training. We would also like to thank Kyle’s fiancee Stephanie for letting him run out to rescue us from that dark Massachusetts airfield.

Thank you again to all whom donated food, supplies, and hygiene products. Without your help this would not have been as successful as it was. Again, thank you so much! And visit Vermont. We all need a vacation on the weekends.

Christopher John “CJ” Cain III

18 Ridge Road, Newtown                                             January 4, 2012