BUCKSPORT — Helping out your fellow man — or farm animal — is its personal reward, however typically a bit public recognition is sweet.
To that finish, father and son Floyd and Buddy Clement of Roundtuit Farm have been honored on the March 24 Town Council assembly by Public Safety Director Sean Geagan and Deputy Police Chief David Winchester.
The Clements, upon studying of farm animals in potential disaster, stopped what they have been doing to transfer the creatures to a secure location shortly earlier than a blizzard hit the world in January.
Winchester defined that the individuals who owned the animals had moved to Bucksport with the farm animals final fall however didn’t have shelter for the three cows, roughly 15 sheep and two canine.
“As the fall moved to winter, the weather grew colder,” Winchester stated. “There was a genuine concern due to the lack of a barn or a structure to protect the animals from the elements.”
In late January, a winter storm threatened to deposit a number of inches of snow.
“The animals on this property still had no structure to protect them,” Winchester stated. “The owners had found a place for them but had no way to move them. There was great concern for welfare for the animals.”
Winchester stated he contacted the Clement household, whom he’s recognized for years.
“I know the family to be a hardworking, family-oriented, wrestling-loving family,” the chief stated. “I explained the dilemma and concern for the animals’ safety.”
With no hesitation or want for clarification, the Clements arrived with a trailer and moved the animals to their new location, Winchester stated. “And here I learned a valuable lesson, I am not a farmhand. I am not a cowboy in any shape or manner. But I did a heck of a job holding that gate.”
“However, the Clements showed us how it’s really done with calmness and expertise that was amazing to watch,” Winchester stated. “We would not have been able to complete the task without their assistance.”
Winchester stated he wasn’t stunned concerning the household’s quick response to somebody in want. “It’s who they are and who I’ve known them to be.”
Winchester and Geagan introduced the 2 with a “challenge coin,” which is a brand new program the Public Safety Department is launching.
“We’re trying to recognize good Samaritans,” Geagan stated in an interview earlier than the assembly. “We’re trying to get good news out there. There are nice people in this world.”
Town Manager Susan Lessard stated she wished “to echo the thanks.”
“You gentlemen really saved the day,” she stated.
“The day before that blizzard, I can tell you that my phone was ringing off the hook with people concerned about the fate of those animals,” Lessard stated.
When Deputy Chief Winchester knowledgeable Lessard the Clements have been going to assist, “it was like an answered prayer, and I can’t thank you enough for your help in resolving this situation,” the city supervisor stated.