L.I. pays it forward to Louisiana

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Island Park and Oceanside residents loaded a tractor-trailer to the brim with household supplies destined for Louisiana flood victims at the Island Park Public Works Department on Sept. 15. From cleaning supplies to undergarments, from baby food to box fans, the items spanned everything people living in a flood-ravaged environment could need.

The goods and gift cards that were collected on Long Island over the past few weeks made it to Louisiana on Sept. 18, and were distributed to people cleaning up from the flooding near Baton Rouge.

Groups and organizations from all over the area took part in the collections. The effort was started by Island Park Fire Chief James Sarro, and was joined by Terry Reichel, president of the Island Park Business and Residential Chamber of Commerce; Ben Jackson, of Ben’s Contracting in Freeport, and Jennifer Jerome, representing United Friends of America; Town of Hempstead Councilman Anthony D’Esposito; Nassau County Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Craft; Ellen Cutler-Igoe of ACTION; the Island Park, Oceanside, Baldwin, Freeport and Long Beach fire departments; Hope Floats, of Babylon, and volunteers from Lido Beach and Lindenhurst.

This was not the first time Long Islanders have come to the aid of disaster victims. Reichel and others went to Oklahoma after devastating tornadoes struck there in 2013, and to the Mohawk Valley in upstate New York after floods there the same year.

Arabie Trucking Services, headquartered in Thibodaux, La., transported the goods south, with Gabriel Durocher, a volunteer firefighter fromLouisiana, at the wheel. On its Facebook page, Arabie Trucking posted, “From all the surrounding communities in Baton Rouge, LA that will benefit from your generosity a big THANK YOU!! This is the end of a long journey that y’all started by collecting in the streets of your neighborhoods and your fire stations. It culminated today in Baton Rouge by being delivered to the (Louisiana State Church of God) Maranatha Fellowship 1433 on Sharp Lane in Baton Rouge. The supplies will be distributed out to all the people that need it. They were very very appreciative of all that y’all did.”

Sandy and Myrna Arabie, owners of Arabie Trucking Services, have donated their services before. After Hurricane Sandy hit, they send trucks full of goods for the flood victims on Long Island.

“It’s a good thing,” said Oceanside resident Mike Fischer. “They were here for us.”

“It’s been a great community effort,” said Jerome, of United Friends of America, “and we’re happy to do it.”

Durocher who made the two-day journey from Louisiana to collect the supplies, was impressed with the effort, “It’s nice,” he said. “It just goes to show no matter what’s going on in the world, there are people still willing to help.”