AGAWAM — When a veteran couple in town faced an emergency situation with their sewer line, two companies from town stepped up to help, volunteering time, workers, resources and equipment at no cost.

On May 9, the town presented John Kudlic of Kudlic Brothers Inc. and Craig Damon of Witch Enterprises with letters of appreciation. They were also recognized by the Marine Corps League and received plaques from the Agawam Veterans Council during a ceremony at the Veterans Green on Main Street.

Christopher Lanski, the town’s veterans director, said, “This was a surprise to Mr. Kudlic and Mr. Damon. They had no idea about the awards presentation. Aldo Mancini Jr., who’s the chairman of the Agawam Veterans Council, told them to come there because he wanted to give them something.”

He continued, “It began as a letter of appreciation, but as people started showing up, I think they knew that it was probably a little more than that. What these gentlemen did was far and beyond anything that I’ve seen, to drop everything on a moment’s notice and come together in a time of an emergency to prevent this veteran couple from being homeless.”

In February 2021, two veterans living in an Agawam house noticed they were having issues with their sewer system. During this time of COVID-19, the couple was unable to get a contractor to fix the issue in a timely manner. The town’s DPW was able to provide only a temporary solution for the sewer line. As time passed, the family found its sewer system acting up again in the spring of 2022. The couple now found they were unable to afford the cost of a new sewer line to replace the current line that was failing, due to a lack of funds from not working during the COVID-19 restrictions. The sewer line troubles continued in May 2022, when the town Health Department issued a letter stating that the sewer line has been compromised and wastewater was still not draining through the system properly. The homeowners were able to hire a contractor to clear the blockage, but again this was only a temporary fix, and the sewer line needed to be completely replaced.

On March 19, 2023, the DPW was called out to address raw sewage coming up through the pavement and running down the street, and the couple were given a 24-hour notice to fix the sewer line. Mancini put them in touch with Kudlic Brothers and Witch Enterprises, and those two companies began work at 8 a.m. on March 20. Kudlic and Damon completed the work that was required by cutting across the street to connect a new line from the house to the town sewer. The only thing they asked from the Agawam Veterans Council was reimbursement for the supplies they used.

“These individuals and their companies volunteered with a phone call to come and help this family that were veterans during an emergency crisis,” said Lanski. “It was an immediate response. For somebody to do that in reference to being out at some other job site is pretty amazing to me.”