Salem Township holds an open house in new building

By PATRICK COOLEY, Special to The News


LOWER SALEM — Members of the Salem Township community were thanked for their help on Saturday afternoon at the area’s new township community building.

An open house was held at the new facility. From 2 to 4 p.m., the volunteers who help construct the building were honored and from 4 to 7 p.m., members of the public were given the opportunity to tour the facility in its entirety.

According to the Salem Township Trustees, the building was put together almost entirely through volunteer labor.

“You look at the final product and it makes you feel good,” said Josh Schofield, a volunteer firefighter for the Salem Township Fire Department and one of the individuals who donated their time to building the facility.

Schofield helped with drywall, concrete and the framing of the building.

“I work for a contractor,” he said. “And the prices (contractors) charge are outrageous. I figured I could put in the hours, give them a hand and that way they wouldn’t have to put in the extra dollars.”

Ralph Knowlton, 77, of Whipple, said it was a very good thing that so many people volunteered their time to help finish the facility.

“The trustees really put a lot of time into this buiding,” he said. “It shows there is a lot of interest in the community.

“It’s been a little crowded (at the fire department),” he said.

Bob West, a Salem Township Trustee, said between $92,000 and $94,000 has been spent on the building so far, but that volunteer labor, along with a federal Community Development Block Grant and a grant from Sisters of St. Joseph Charitable Fun, saved them nearly $120,000.

“We really appreciate the grant from Sisters of St. Joseph,” he said. “We could not have done what we did without it.”

West also said local unions volunteered to do the electrical work and some local contractors volunteered their time as well.

The building has been under construction since the summer of 2006 and contains a room where community meetings can be held. West said such community meetings used to be held in the Salem Township Fire Department, now the department has the building all to itself.

Joe Fouss, who was a Salem Township Trustee for more than 20 years, was another volunteer.

“My mother-in-law was one of the eight or nine women who donated this land to the trustees,” he said. “There used to be a church here.”

One of the jobs Fouss helped with was the carpeting for the building, which he said is the kind of work he enjoys.

Jack Haas, a retired Salem Township fire chief, was another volunteer.

“This is great for the community,” he said. “That’s the main thing, getting everybody to pull together.”

Haas said he really enjoys helping out his neighbors and volunteering in the community, so deciding to help build the community building was an easy choice for him to make.

“This is something the township needs to be proud of,” he said.