Motocross event raises cash for fire department

WINSTED — Despite a last-minute change in venue, the Winsted Fire Department Aerial Ladder Company managed to pull off a successful motocross-style bike race fundraiser Aug. 2 and 3 thanks to Anthony Silano, developer of the Aurora Estates project, and the staff who volunteered their time during the two-day event.

Originally, the fundraiser was to be located on the Knights of Columbus property, but after zoning issues, the WFD company was forced to find a new location for the scholarship fundraising event.

After hearing about the dilemma, Silano offered the WFD use of his property, located at 210 Winsted Road, and plans were once again put into action.

"We did very, very well," said organizer and WFD Aerial Ladder member Geoff Bleiler. The only problems, he said, were a rainstorm that raced through the area on Saturday, and parking all the participants. "We had about 350 riders on Sunday," said Bleiler.

"We feel this event was a great success and are very excited to team up with the Berkshire Trail Riders again and host another event next year," said Bleiler. "There are certain factors that will dictate the feasibility of another event. If Mr. Silano, who was kind enough to allow us to use his property for this event, will again, and the development he is planning hasn’t started, then I would say we would definitely host the event there next year. If that doesn’t happen then we will continue to look for a site that is appropriate to host the event on an annual basis which is what we had hoped for from the inception."

While an exact figure on how much was raised from the two-day event has yet to be determined, Bleiler reported that two scholarships will be awarded at the end of August.

"We have not been able to reconcile the proceeds at this point. There is a tremendous amount of monetary outlay to have this event and sorting through everything will take some time," said Bleiler.