HOULTON, Maine — Last week on Military Street, three men were busy cutting and chopping logs to a woodsy symphony scored with the grinding buzz of a chainsaw and the roar of a motorized wood splitter.
Eugene Wendell Stewart put cut logs through the splitter. As they dropped with a clump, clap, clump to the ground, Ken Norton and Justin Kobylarz tossed the woodstove-sized logs onto an ever growing snow-dusted pile to let the wood start its aging process and eventually heat the home of a county resident in need.
Helping where it’s needed
“We’re cutting up wood for people who need it,” said Stewart. “This is going to be important for somebody who needs it,” commented Norton. “I’m just helping Dale,” explained young Kobylarz.
Dale Flewelling is program director of Friends of Aroostook (FOA). “We have some men here today processing wood and preparing it for delivery primarily through the Salvation Army.” Flewelling said on that particular day, they would process about four cords of wood. Combined with more wood that had been processed last year, he said it would total about 24 cords when the men finished.
“Depending on their stove, some consumers have to have seasoned wood. Others can burn what we call “green wood” that’s just been processed. We deliver about 1/3 of a cord per home. And it has about a $60 value.” Major Irma Pearl at the Houlton branch of the Salvation Army established that dollar amount, according to Flewelling.
Major Irma said she reviews a person’s income and expenses to determine need. “If there is a need, they will get a voucher and go to Dale who will deliver the wood to them. A lot of people don’t have the resources to buy oil right now.” The wood and the delivery are free of charge. “It’s very serious because some people don’t know where they are going to turn to, how they are going to pay their bills or where their next meal is going to come from. It’s really a drastic thing that’s happening in people’s lives.”
Even if a person is working and bringing home a salary, fuel may be out of the question due to heavy debts or being out of work according to Major Irma. “The wood is an alternative so they can get through the winter,” she said. Although Flewelling gets direct calls for help, he said everyone eventually is screened through the Salvation Army process.
Growing support
For the last two years, contractors Bruce Warman and Mike Lane have donated tree-length wood to FOA’s Operation Wood Heat. Flewelling said it amounted to about 18 cords of wood.
FOA’s programs, now into their third year, have thrived under the banner of “connecting local resources with local needs.” The agency’s programs have supplied fresh produce and firewood to county residents in need, all the while, garnering support in the form of grants and donations. “We have received funding from United Way. And, we just received a $1,000 grant from the County Federal Credit Union in Houlton to purchase, process and deliver wood where it is needed,” stated Flewelling.
For more information contact the Salvation Army in Houlton at 532-2322 or visit Friends of Aroostook on the Web at: http://www.friendsof aroostook.org.