COLRAIN — Friends and family of Scott Roberts are trying to help him rebuild after a freak windstorm destroyed the huge barn he was constructing.
Deane Roberts, Scott’s father, said strong winds picked up the 152-foot by 48-foot barn “and moved it 20 feet from its foundation” on June 18, killing two of about 54 pigs that were sheltered inside. Besides the destroyed barn, several trees were blown down on 15 to 20 acres of the Dar Ridge Farm, beyond the barn.
The barn had about half its roof up. But it had not yet been insured because construction wasn’t complete, the elder Roberts said.
For now, the remaining pigs have been moved into a friend’s empty dairy barn. Also, many people came out for a work day on June 30. “There was a tremendous turnout,” said Roberts. “They picked up debris and pulled nails out of things that we could save.”
Roberts said the rebuild will depend on his son’s available finances.
Bonnie Smith Sullivan had set up a