Hay delivered to ranchers
MILES CITY, Mont. — Five tractor trailer loads of hay grown in Western Pennsylvania were successfully delivered and donated this weekend to cattle ranchers in Montana.
The loads of hay, and the trucks and drivers to get them nearly 1,600 miles across the country, were collected and coordinated by Altmire Trucking of Cherry Valley.
Employees of the trucking company have relatives who live in Montana and had been hearing firsthand accounts and following the media coverage of the devastating wildfires that have hit the state this year, said Terri Miller of Altmire.
More than 500,000 acres have burned, and many cattle ranchers have been forced off their properties, have lost cattle and are seeing their livelihoods in danger.
The hay was donated by local farmers, and five local truck drivers/trucking businesses donated several days of their time and use of their trucks to deliver the goods.
Among them was John Sutton, a truck owner and operator. His fuel costs were paid through a donation from the West Sunbury American Legion Post 243, of which he is a member.
The other drivers were Altmire owner Perry Altmire Jr., David Campbell, Robert Metz and Tim Birckbichler, who was driving for Wayne W. Sell Corp. of Sarver.
Montana's agriculture department, which is coordinating relief efforts, instructed them to go to Miles City. The group left Butler County on Saturday and arrived in Montana without any issues around midnight Sunday, Terri Miller said.
The company saw a lot of community support after they announced their relief effort, Miller said. They had more hay pledged than they could ultimately drive to Montana, and they had contributions from many people, including some neighborhood children who donated the contents of their piggy banks.
“It was awesome. It was overwhelming,” she said.
They unloaded the hay Monday and were driving back home Tuesday.
The relief effort attracted attention not only from people in Butler County, but also from a few people who saw them on the road, since a couple of the trucks were displaying banners that read “PA for Montana Fire Victims” and West Sunbury Legion Post 243.
Miller said that they received numerous photographs, videos and thank you messages through social media.
An employee of Strommen Ranch, a cattle ranch in North Dakota, captured video footage of the trucks en route Sunday night.
The ranch posted the video to its Facebook page, and it had been viewed 46,000 times and shared 900 times as of Tuesday.
The description on the video read, “This video shows Americans reaching out to fellow Americans, making America a better, more perfect union.”
Since Montana Gov. Steve Bullock signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency until Oct. 31, the group will still collect monetary donations for fire victims until then.
Those interested in donating can do so through a “PA for Montana Fire Victims” account set up at Farmer's National Bank in Eau Claire, P.O. Box E, Eau Claire, PA 16030. The donations are tax-deductible.
