Help sought for barn-raising effort

OLMSTEDVILLE | Rodney and Loretta Galusha of Olmstedville are facing multiple serious hardships, and a friend of theirs is seeking help for the couple. The Galusha's barn, which provides shelter for the Galusha's 29 sheep and two cows, was virtually destroyed by the July 10 windstorm. Fortunately, all these animals were in the adjacent pasture when the storm leveled the barn. They are fine, but they will soon be needing shelter. The barn, home, and its land are the homestead for many generations of Galushas, said Liz Cleveland of North River, a friend of the Galushas. Rodney worked for years as a logger, but took on a job at Barton Mines in North River because Loretta needed health insurance due to her ongoing treatments for Stage 4 breast cancer, Cleveland said. She added that Loretta had been a home-care health worker for her mother for 18 months, but she had to quit that long-time job because of her cancer treatments. This loss of income has hampered the Galusha's ability to pay for routine expenses, Cleveland said, adding that the Galushas have no insurance on the barn. Loretta said Aug. 25 that a few days earlier, Rodney found out the frame was broken on the pickup truck he drives to work throughout the week. Rodney works 12 hours per day at his job, plus he attends to their animals and takes care of Loretta, who is attempting to help Rodney dismantle the barn — despite the pain she is experiencing in her bones due to the cancer, she said. "Rodney is trying to take care of me and get the barn fixed — he's exhausted," she said. Loretta said she has ongoing chemotherapy treatments in Glens Falls; and beginning in two months, she will be receiving six weeks of radiation treatments, five days per week. While Loretta started a GoFundMe.com fundraiser, Cleveland is organizing a drive to gather materials to rebuild the barn, via posts on the Facebook group titled "North Creek, NY Community Bulletin Board." Cleveland said she and her friend Melissa Myers of Minerva called area lumber yards for materials for rebuilding the barn, prompting Curtis Lumber to donate some materials. Paul Cllckner of Olmstedville and Corey Bennett of North Creek are sawing up some timber for the project, and John Stafford of North Creek donated a truckload of nails and bolts, while John Sleckman of North Creek set up a line of credit for the Galushas at Murphy's Lumber in Wevertown. Also, Tracy Corbett and her partner, who were dismantling their house in Indian Lake to build a new home, gave them their salvaged materials including lumber, plywood, and two windows. Debbie Leigh of North Creek donated roofing tin, and Mike Green of Minerva is providing transportation for lumber."We need more building materials," Cleveland said. "Whether it's new or repurposed, we don't care — we need all we can get." Also, Jed Armstrong of Wevertown and his friend Kevin Stonitsch of Chestertown are assembling a crew of people to rebuild the barn, likely within several weeks, Cleveland added, noting that more volunteers are needed. In addition to this work, Loretta Galusha will be holding a yard sale — to raise cash — from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31 and Sunday, Sept.1 as well as for five days beforehand at the Galusha's home at 671 Church Road, Olmstedville. Cleveland encourages people to contribute to the barn-raising via Galusha's GoFundMe account which can be found by searching for "Rodney Galusha's Barn" at www.GoFundMe.com. People who want to donate materials or their labor — or help in other ways — may call Liz Cleveland at 518-683-2301 or Loretta Galusha at 518-796-9771.

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Help sought for barn-raising effort

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