LIVERMORE FALLS — A tri-town fuel assistance program recently went through more than $25,000 in three weeks to help 100-plus households in Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls with emergency heating assistance.

The fund is dangerously low and Deb Kendall, chairwoman of the Good Neighbor Tri-Town Fuel Assistance Program, is hoping the community can donate to help those in need.

“Last week we had to turn someone away because of lack of funds,” she said.

The program has received some donations since then but not enough to keep up with the demand, she said.

With the frigid winter temperatures, people are going through their oil quickly, Kendall said.

“As our economy continues to remain stagnant, this program is needed more than ever,” she said.

Several letters requesting donations have been sent and they are trickling in.

“We are reaching out to the communities again, which have been so generous already, to see if they can reach even further into their pockets to help out,” Kendall said.

To donate, people may send checks to Good Neighbor Tri-Town Fuel Assistance, care of Tri-Town Ministerial Association Fuel Fund, P.O. Box 183, Livermore Falls, ME 04254.

Committee members are also open to suggestions of fundraisers and other ideas to help raise money for the heating fund.

The committee started the local heating assistance program in November 2008, prior to Wausau Paper’s first round of layoffs in December that year and before the mill permanently closed in June 2009. The program has emergency fuel funds available for former Wausau workers that were donated by the unions that served those workers. However that money can not be used for anyone but those paper mill workers, Kendall said.

The committee has raised more than $60,000 since its inception and helped hundreds of people.

dperry@sunjournal.com