Former firefighter Antanas also remembers the district’s political fires (LETTER)

– Anton, how old are you?

– I am 80. This year marks another anniversary, my car is 30.

– How long did you work at Miroslava?

– I worked at the fire station until 2003, the last three years I worked as an assistant to the shift chief, and before that I worked as a driver for 30 years.

– What did you remember the most during this time?

– The whole story. The official car had to be transported from Russia.

The new Kamaz did not fit into the renovated fire station premises, so it was necessary to cut the floor and dig a special basement, which later resembled the premises of current foreign firefighters.

– The biggest fires you remember?

– We didn’t see very big ones.

I remember the fire on the side of Parēčėnai, when a lot of hornets and a grain warehouse were burnt in the collective farm and also in the homestead.

– You were not only a firefighter, but also a rescuer, how did you help the residents?

– We received all kinds of calls on the phone number 331 – including thefts and crimes, we had to help.

– What else did you remember working as a firefighter?

– I still remember the burning of straw and corn fields before the commissions’ visits, the strange features of grass flour production in Bendres. The first results of the factory were announced even before its opening…

– Is it possible to burn old grass or not?

– If in your yard, under supervision – fine, if in fields, meadows, forests – not.

– Anton, you remember not only the main fires, but also political ones. You came to our editorial office with a letter called “The stars fall not only in the sky, but also on the earth, or the stick has two ends”, why?

– I remember a story 12 years ago. I and many other residents were accused of allegedly “defaming and disparaging the people of the district and their leadership by spreading incorrect information.”

In 2011, I published my opinion in the publication “What did the mayor of Alytus district congratulate?” in “Alytus news” (No. 11972).

It might be a bit ironic, but I raised serious problems about unbridled jet skis in Daugai, plots distributed by the lake, because of the request of the people of Myroslavl to not forgive their favorite former social worker Onutė Tumasonienė, the problems of the residents of the villages of Butrimiškii, Kabinių, Panemuninkii.

A lightning-fast response from the then mayor of the district, Algirdas Vrubliauskas, with almost a threat to “answer for the expressed opinion” appeared within 48 hours of my critical publication.

– This July, the story you mentioned will be 13 years old. Maybe it’s time to forget the politician who no longer leads the district after two decades?

– I see that “Alytus noviesinos” is an open, non-government newspaper, it is still important to me, that’s why I wrote this letter, and the most important question in it is whether I and all the others who spoke about all kinds of ills in the press are still – “liars ” and “thugs”?

It would be nice to have a reply to my letter, I am not the only one waiting for it. Will we get an answer, will we dig into the bushes, we will see, after all, the woodpecker is variegated, and, as they say, life is even more variegated…

By the way, in my opinion, the aforementioned exmer was good as a farmer and manager, but he had a great desire for honor.

I remember that in the newspaper, which is still supported by the district government, the presentation of the equipment to the firefighters was presented only with a photo of himself and the donated equipment. It only held half of a fireman’s head…

– When you came to the editorial office, you said that you moved from Miroslav to Alytus a long time ago, how do you assess the city and its government?

– I rate the current city mayor Nerijas Cesiulis the best among the recent leaders.

– Is it because he “put out the fire” or because of some other work?

– I don’t remember the specific works of N. Cesiulis, but I am happy that the roads are improving, something is happening in the Industrial Park, the city is beautifying.