Community support for Task Force Tipper goes a long way

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Andrea Sheeran | Vermont and Ohio National Guard Engineers work to repair a bridge washed out by Tropical Storm Irene floodwaters on Vt. Route 131 in Cavendish, Vt.  

CAVENDISH, VT, UNITED STATES

09.28.2011

Courtesy Story

158th Fighter Wing

Story by: 1st Lt. Dyana Allen
Vermont National Guard State Public Affairs

CAVENDISH, Vt. - Working seven days a week, from 5:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., the 131st Engineer Company of the Vermont National Guard and Task Force Tipper of the Ohio National Guard worked on filling the so-called “Cavendish Canyon” in Route 131 so that the road could be repaired. TF Tipper left Sept. 28 after completing the project far enough so that contractors could start to rebuild the road.

“We were about seven feet from road elevation which will allow the contractor who wins the bid the ability to put the sewer and water lines back in and finish up the paving on the road,” said 1st Lt. Timothy Sutter from the Ohio National Guard, Project Officer-in-Charge.

TF Tipper managed to move 60,000 tons of material in under a month. A constant stream of dump trucks from the military and from the New Hampshire DOT made this possible.

The members TF Tipper were proud to represent the Ohio National Guard and help the communities who made them feel welcomed and appreciated. Soldiers and airmen were happy to finish their project, but said they would miss Vermont. Stories of residents honking and waving and giving a “thumbs-up” sign when the dump-truck drivers were picking up and dropping off dirt and gravel were told. They spoke of school children who on their recess would go to the fences when they heard the trucks and would wave and shout.

The surrounding towns were happy to have the National Guard there, no matter what state they were from. Residents did their best to make their visitors feel at home. Every day, Father’s Restaurant in Westminster, served 200 meals to the National Guard. Their buffet style restaurant provided an easy way for 85 soldiers and airmen to sit down and enjoy a hot meal before and after a long, hard day of work.

“They are great fellows and great people…I try to give them what I think they would like,” said Brian McAllister, owner of Father’s Restaurant.

McAllister and his cook, Judy Briggs, enjoy the time they have with the Guardsmen during their meals. Briggs, whose son is a Technical Sergeant at Nellis Air Force Base, says that she enjoys cooking for and interacting with the soldiers and airmen who she says are nice to be around. She hopes that residents where his son are, take care of him the way she is taking care of the National Guard.

“I hope that my son, wherever he ends up, the people there pass it on,” said Briggs.

Father’s Restaurant is not the only local establishment taking pride in the local National Guard’s recovery efforts. The American Legion invited soldiers and airmen to watch football games on Saturdays and Sundays. Killarney’s Irish Pub and Athens Restaurant had also provided bagged lunches and Athens delivered pizza to the American Legion for the football games.

Many soldiers and airmen reiterated time and again how great the residents of Vermont were to them. They spoke very kindly of how the community organized baked goods to be delivered to the Westminster Armory and BBQ’s that were put together on the jobsite and at the Armory. All of this support boosted morale and the soldiers and airmen really felt the difference.

• Date Taken: 09.28.2011
• Date Posted: 09.30.2011 15:59
• Story ID: 77856
• Location: CAVENDISH, VT, US