By Mark Reynolds
Marlborough and Lloyd were not going to let Halloween slip on by without some kind of celebration for the kids.
Marlborough Highway Superinten-dent John Alonge organized a ‘Drive Thru Trunk or Treat’ on Saturday at the town park in Milton. Residents drove into the park and stopped by the Fire and Highway trucks which were loaded down with special treats for the kids. The Marlboro Police along with members of the Marlboro and Milton Fire companies helped to ensure that the event would be a great success.
“I wanted to do something for the kids being that the pandemic was keeping everybody in their house,” Alonge said. “I have grand-kids myself, so Grandpa wanted to make sure that his kids got out to get some treats and this is the only way that I thought I could do it safely.”
Alonge was very thankful for the town allowing the event to take place.
“They were very supportive as long as we did the social distancing and kept our masks on,” he said. “It was something that I could do to give back to my community.”
Peter Carofano, a member of the Fire Department, said the event is ‘wonderful’ and he got involved because of their chief Erick Masten.
“It is a good thing for the kids and I think John [Alonge] should be commended; I give him a lot of credit and accolades. He is a very community-minded person,” Carofano said.
Chief Masten said when he got the call from Alonge he said without any hesitation that his company would be there to help in anyway they can.
“We wanted to do something nice for the community and this is a nice, safe way to do it,” he said.
In Lloyd, parents drove into the fire department parking lot with their kids in tow. They were greeted by a few scary creatures as well as Swamp Thing but the kids thought it was well worth it.
Police Chief James Janso [aka Swamp Thing] said this is the first time holding a drive through event for Halloween.
“When they shut down Halloween and the related festivities, we couldn’t let it go by without doing something. So we sat down and we figured out to do a drive-thru by the fire department. We’re doing it safe and the kids could still come out and trick or treat.”
Janso said members from his department and the fire company, along with the Town Clerk’s office, all volunteered to run the event.
“They all came together tonight in this cold weather and during this virus that we’re dealing with; what a great town we have,” he said. “It’s good to see that towns can come together and figure something out to still celebrate and still have a fun time.”
Chief Janso knows that life is now very different for kids during these trying times, “so one night of some kind of normalcy on Halloween; we’re gonna do it.”