The red trucks are unmistakable and often can be seen in areas where tragedy has taken place in the Upper Ohio Valley.
That’s just how it works at Panhandle Cleaning and Restoration.
“We’re just trying to continue doing what we enjoy doing fort the community despite this crazy pandemic,” said Josh Contraguerro, vice president of specialty services. “We’re always looking for members of our community that are in need so we might be able to step in and do something to help.
“It’s about lending a helping hand and doing the right thing,” he explained. “It goes back to our founding principles and that’s why it has always started with my dad, and he has instilled it into us. That’s why, when we see a crisis, we do what we can do to help the people that need it.”
If a Contraguerro family member isn’t aware of a crisis situation, their Panhandle employees likely do.
“Our employees come to us at time when they know of people who are in need,” Contraguerro said. “Sometimes they see a flyer about a kid raising funds for a community project, or they will tell us about people who are experiencing health issues. When that happens, we immediately take a look at the situation and figure out what we can do to help.
“That’s because it is engrained in the culture here at Panhandle, and our employees are a big part of it,” he explained. “It’s truly a great feeling when one of them brings us information because they think we can help these people.”
Trucks on Television
One segment of the series “Hoarders” involved a Center Wheeling family, and after the hosts convinced the residents to rid the home of the unnecessary, there were the Panhandle crews arriving in those red trucks.
Contraguerro explained that if the family would like further assistance, he and his crews would return.
“We have not been in contact with that families recently, but I hope they know that if they need help, our ears our open to that opportunity,” he said. “I know that the family has some things to work through, but we will be there for them if we are called upon.
“Those kinds of jobs take a lot of work, but it’s worth it,” Contraguerro continued. “That’s why we have offered to be there if and when they would like to continue the work.”
The Unspeakable
In the middle of July, a Wheeling mother took to Facebook in an effort to gain information on who scratched racial slurs into the paint of her son’s vehicle on Wheeling Island.
As soon as the post was shared more than 100 times on the social media platform, the Contraguerros jumped into action with assistance from Tri-State Tint & Vinyl. On July 31, the young man was able to pick up his car at Panhandle’s headquarters in South Wheeling.
“We did see the mother’s post on Facebook and immediately knew we could help her son,” Contraguerro said. “We immediately sent her a message so we could figure out what we could do. That’s when we got together and came up with some options.
“It was really great that other individuals and businesses stepped up to help, too. That was a group effort,” he said. “And people chipped in for the financial assistance, too, and that was terrific because I believe that really made a difference in that young man’s life. It’s on our hope that the positives outweigh the negatives of that situation.”
The Covid March
With office operations in Wheeling, Pittsburgh, and Morgantown, the crews with Panhandle has been quite busy since a coronavirus named COVID-19 made its way across the globe. More than 23.5 million positive cases have been confirmed worldwide with 5.9 million cases and more than 180,000 death in the United States.
As of Sunday, 178 West Virginians have passed away after being one of the 9,300 who tested positive, and in Ohio County, 292 positive tests have been recorded and the death toll sits at four.
“This pandemic has been going and going and going, and it’s been a very business time for us at Panhandle,” Contraguerro explained. “And it has been a learning curve for all of us and we have had to continue to adapt as far as how we go about doing our jobs, and large majority are sitting behind a desk. They are out in the community and working inside local homes and businesses.
“Our top priority is to keep our employees safe while doing the same for our clients,” he said. “It’s about meeting the needs of our clients, and those needs have really changed since the beginning of the pandemic. Plus, we have had crews that have traveled as far as Alabama and Kentucky for clients of ours because they know what they get from us, and they trust us to do it.”
