More area residents contribute to Helene recovery effort
Earlier this month, local insurance agent Richard Kotch turned his office on South Duffy Road into a warehouse to store supplies to donate to the region ravaged by Hurricane Helene, which struck North Carolina and other parts of the Deep South.
On Oct. 16, retired truck driver Mark Thomas of Thomas Trucking and Excavating volunteered to finish the job and take the donated supplies to Asheville, N.C., one of the cities hardest-hit by the hurricane, which took the lives of 225 men, women and children.
The truck used for the transportation was donated by Hindman & Isaacs Moving & Storage, a Connoquenessing Township moving company owned by Scott Isaacs. Kotch says he was connected to the company through his brother-in-law, and he was connected to the driver through the moving company.
According to Kotch’s sister, Ann Snodgrass, the truck contained over 18,000 pounds of donated supplies.
“(We collected) almost everything you could think of,” Kotch said. “Food, medicine, water, brand-new clothes, baby clothes, hygiene items … anything you could think of that people need to live, it was in that truck.”
Thomas said he was moved by the experience of seeing hurricane-ravaged Asheville.
“My experience was shocking to say the least,” Thomas said. “(It was) total devastation everywhere you looked. Homes off of foundations, bridges washed away, and roads closed from debris.”
However, Thomas was similarly moved by the fortitude of the people of western North Carolina.
“From what I saw they are coping very well,” Thomas said. “Locals and volunteers are working together.”
Kotch’s reason for pulling together the massive donation effort for North Carolina is simple, and personal.
His son, Tyler — an alumnus of Butler High School — is now a resident and business owner in Asheville. His son came out of the hurricane unhurt and, like his father, is doing what he can to help those less fortunate.
“Tyler was never hurt, him and his girlfriend,” Kotch said. “He was one of the fortunate ones, where his house was not hurt or destroyed. They lost power and water.”
Already, some of the people involved in Butler County are organizing a second donation run, this one intended for hurricane victims in Florida.
Hindman & Isaacs is looking to collect supplies such as food and water, clothing, toys, first aid and hygiene supplies. Donations will be accepted on weekdays through the end of October, and can be dropped off at the Hindman & Isaacs location on Hindman Lane in Connoquenessing Township.
Another Butler County native making a major donation effort for the victims of Hurricane Helene is Jaloyn Fockler, who recently carried a U-Haul full of supplies to Mountain City, Tenn.
A group of friends, including Dave Zirnsak, Kalynn Braughler, Kelsee Callihan and Gail Paserba helped coordinate the donation effort and collect supplies, and Callihan accompanied Fockler on the trip to Tennessee.
“We bought 20 sleeping bags,” said Zirnsak. “They needed shovels to be able to move the debris that's in their houses and around their houses. It's starting to get cold in the mountains right now, so one of the things on their list are heaters. So we bought some heaters and some small propane tanks.”
Fockler, who lives in the Shannon Mills neighborhood, has a friend who lives in the hurricane-ravaged part of Tennessee.
“So I (reached out) to her and asked if we could bring stuff down,” Fockler said. “There's a lot of little towns throughout the Appalachian mountain range that are getting zero acknowledgment. Nobody knows anything about them. It seems like all efforts right now are funneling towards the larger cities like Asheville, so we wanted to kind of help out the smaller towns that were affected by the hurricane.”
The group isn’t done contributing to the recovery effort in the Appalachian Mountains, as Zirnsak is planning to drive a second load to Tennessee in the near future.
