‘I figured if I could get $200 on one block in about an hour and a half, I might be able to raise a substantial amount if I covered the whole town. So that’s what I decided to do. I’ve knocked on about a quarter of the doors in town so far, and am up to $6,600,’ said Mr. Fort
By: John Tredrea
Stunned and saddened by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Scott Fort felt he "should do something," as he put it Tuesday.
An idea of what it could be struck him while watching a recent installment of David Letterman’s late night television show.
The actor Dennis Leary was a guest on the show that night. Mr. Leary spoke of an organization he had started, the Leary Firefighters Foundation Fund for New York’s Bravest, to benefit the families of the 350 New York City fireman who died at the World Trade Center.
"The day after the Letterman show, I visited the houses on my block and collected $200 for the Leary foundation," said Mr. Fort, who lives on South Main Street and who owns, with his wife Andria, the Magic Moon restaurant on North Main Street.
"I figured if I could get $200 on one block in about an hour and a half, I might be able to raise a substantial amount if I covered the whole town. So that’s what I decided to do. I’ve knocked on about a quarter of the doors in town so far, and am up to $6,600," said Mr. Fort.
Mr. Fort is collecting the money in a firefighter’s boot, loaned to him by a friend who is a professional firefighter in Trenton. "The generosity has been pretty amazing," Mr. Fort said. "I got one check for $1,000. It’s been everything from pocket change to $5s, $10s, $20s and $100s. I’ve already sent a check for $5,000 to the Leary foundation. If I get another $5,000 before I finish covering the town, I’ll send that in and keep walking. Otherwise, I’ll wait till I’m done and send it all."
When Mr. Fort is not carrying the boot around the mile-square borough, it is placed near the tables in the Magic Moon, where more donations for the Leary fund are being collected.

