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[Editor's note -- The following update and thanks is reprinted from the group's Facebook page.]
Thank you to our volunteers! Thank you to our business volunteers! Thank you to our committee volunteers! We really cannot say thank you enough! These past several days have been nothing short of amazing! This community we have, is absolutely incredible! We threw a practically unobtainable task at you and you absolutely obliterated it! We, as a community, can and will make this happen!!!
So, let's start with a recap of Thursday real quick. Thank you to Diamond Disposal for donating two, (and more if needed) dumpsters for us to put all the stuff we cleaned out of the pool into! Thank you also to Service Hauling! They reached out to us to see how they could help. We did not know how much nastiness would be in the pool; we just knew it was going to be bad. These two companies donated their services so that we could focus on what we needed to do, cleaning out the pool. Again, Thank You!!!
Thursday was a bit of an unknown. We technically met there in the morning to make lists of what we would need to ask volunteers to bring and help out with on Friday. Well, some of us came prepared to work also. So more HUGE Thank You's go out to James Mull, Robert Olock, Lori Carnes, Carin Stauffer and Shannon Mitchell! You shoveled the largest area of leaves and muck into piles so that they could drain and be easier for others to haul out the next day. That was some of the most putrid smelling muck this side of the Mississippi! Again, Thank You!!!
Friday brought the community. We put out a last minute call for volunteers and boy oh boy did you answer!
The businesses that were able to help us out were McAndrew Pool Restoration @Kevin McAndrew, Grind Restaurant, and Giant - Gilbertsville! THANK YOU!!! McAndrew Pool Restoration just showed up with monster pressure washers that actually made it fun (in my opinion) to clean the pool. You could definitely tell they've done that before! Grind Restaurant didn't even contact us first, Keith just put it out there that they were going to provide our volunteers for the day with lunch! And it was delicious! Giant - Gilbertsville came and dropped off a ton of waters for all of us to stay hydrated. It was a hot and humid day in a pool with basically no water... very much appreciated!
The individuals who brought their own shovels, brooms, pressure washers, trash cans, buckets and wheelbarrows... We were able to get SO MUCH done! We shoveled the nasty muck into wheelbarrows and trash cans and hauled them off the the waiting dumpsters. We were visited by @Channel 69 News, AND found a rather large and grumpy snapping turtle!!! You also drained the deep end and saved and freed countless tadpoles. THANK YOU!!! Erika Alena, Sophia Alena, Cole Alena, Charles Booz, Jim Boyer, Lonnie Carnes, Lori Carnes, Owen Dietrich, Roger L. Dietrich, Dennis Harvey, Dennis Harvey, Gary Hilbert, Doug Houck, Andrew Marmer, Kevin McAndrew, Warren McKeon, Sherri Mercovich, Shannon Mitchell, James Mull, Robert Olock, Paul Peterka, Carin Stauffer, Blake Stone, Doug Van Horn, Debbie Wagner.
Saturday our group was originally thinking would be the biggest cleanup day but SO much got done on Friday, that it was more of a clean up around the pool (sticks, emptying and pressure washing the skimmers, pressure washing the lounge chairs, clearing all the growth from the filter area and much more). It wasn't quite the muck-fest that Friday was, but trust me, a ton of hard work was put in by everyone!
The businesses that were able to come out to help were Let's Get Digital , @Santiago Contracting and a delicious lunch from Taco Bell - Gilbertsville. THANK YOU!!!
The individuals who came out whether they signed up on the signup genius or just walked in... THANK YOU!!! Vickie Bernhard, Jim Boyer, Lonnie Carnes, Roger L. Dietrich, Charles Emslie, John Fisher, Dieter Kedrowitsch, Erin Kedrowitsch, Andrew Marmer, Shannon Mitchell, James Mull, Paul Peterka, Heather Renshaw, Zac Santiago, Shane Santiago, Moose Swartwood, Owen Swartwood, David Szillo, Chris Ticknor.
Sunday our pool group went back again to finish up the last bits. Again, Incredible Thank You to Jim Mull, Carin Stauffer, Simone Mitchell and Shannon Mitchell!
We simply cannot thank you all enough! Everyone who came out, everyone who liked or shared out posts to get help. Everyone who is helping us to bring back our community pool... THANK YOU!!!