Wanted: one reliable used truck to carry on agency’s charitable service

By Karl Henkel

khenkel@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Fish Samaritan House’s truck isn’t dead yet, but it’s definitely seen better days.

“It’s on its last legs,” board president Linda Lee said.

The truck, a 1999 Chevrolet 3500, was out of commission recently for five days because it needed a new fuel pump, and the day it returned to the roads, an electrical malfunction put it back in the garage for one and one-half days, director Clarence Thigpen said.

“We put a fuel pump in the other day,” he said. “We got down the street, and it died.”

Lee said the truck is the “lifeline” of the house, one of the only in the area to pick up donated items directly from contributors.

“Without the truck, we can’t do anything,” Thigpen said.

Thigpen said the truck has been extremely reliable over the years, and it was only recently that the truck, with 172,000 miles and counting — all for the House — began to experience problems.

“It’s done its job,” he said.

The Fish, as it’s commonly called, has scheduled a fundraiser July 10 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Vintage Estates, 7317 South Ave., to raise funds for either a new or used truck, which Lee estimated could cost anywhere from $20,000 to $70,000.

“We’re kind of hoping to find a good used truck,” she said.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on vindy.com