I’ll admit to being surprised at having seen Amy Miller’s article in the Times News earlier this month about the Hauto and several Nesquehoning volunteer fire companies and other first responders seeking “fill the boot” collections on area roads.

The surprise comes because I thought most volunteer fire companies and other first responders had eliminated this practice because of safety concerns and complaints from motorists who said they felt “strong-armed” to donate.

It was not that many years ago that I would sometimes encounter as many as two or three of these on a single weekend as I traveled along area roadways. The one in the Nesquehoning area was along routes 93 and 209.

It was frustrating when I was in a hurry, especially when I was running late for an appointment or an interview, and I wound up delayed for five or more minutes as the line of traffic snaked past the volunteers passing the boot.

I admit to never donating to these collections - not because I am anti-first responders; far from it. I give generous annual donations to my municipal fire company and ambulance service, so I do not feel obligated to contribute to another volunteer organization 20 or so miles away from me. That’s the primary job of officials and residents of that community.

Despite this, I feel guilty as I pass the volunteer with the boot extended or who has a pleading look, so much so that I try not to make eye contact.

All of this said, I can’t recall the last time I came across one of these collection points on any of the roads that I travel. It has to be at least six or seven years. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the annual Labor Day weekend Muscular Dystrophy Telethon that was associated with the late comedian and humanitarian Jerry Lewis was discontinued in 2014.

Many volunteer and paid fire companies across the country held “fill the boot” fundraisers, then contributed the proceeds to help eradicate muscular dystrophy. And what a success it was. Millions were donated through these efforts.

As several volunteer firefighters told me, however, most of the local “fill the boot” drops benefited the local companies which have always struggled to find funds to finance their expensive equipment and other needs.

In addition to the guilt trip I would experience when I encountered one of these boot drops, I also was concerned for the safety for the volunteers who many times were standing on the centerline of a two-lane road. Granted, there were usually barricades warning oncoming motorists as to what was going on, even other volunteers directing traffic, but I was always afraid that a distracted driver would rear-end another vehicle in the line of stopped traffic.

In case you are tempted to call me an alarmist, I point you to the death of Michigan firefighter Dennis Rodeman, 35, during his fill-the-boot shift when a driver, who police said had “mental issues,” intentionally struck and killed him.

Apparently, I am not the only one who has these concerns. A few years ago, 900 residents of Loudon County (Fairfax County), Virginia, signed a petition, which led to a ban on panhandlers, including these firefighter and other volunteer collection efforts.

I asked some of my firefighter friends why volunteers don’t set up outside of grocery stores or big box stores such as Walmart and Target and get collections that way. I was told that standing in the middle of a busy highway proved to be about four times more effective in raising cash.

In speaking to staff writer Miller, who covered the boot-collection campaign in Nesquehoning and nearby Hauto, she said the safety precautions were extraordinary because officials were very conscious of past concerns and complaints. In addition to helping with the companies’ finances, the effort, supported by Nesquehoning Borough Council, also brought a sense of camaraderie among members of the departments. She also said that this campaign was so successful that another may be planned for next spring.

This type of fundraising is not the only one that I question. I am not a fan of being accosted to buy cookies or anything else as I enter or leave a store. I am sure it is for a good cause. Here again, though, I give a generous annual donation to several youth programs throughout the region, so I don’t feel obliged to buy a box of cookies that I will not eat and must pawn off on an unsuspecting relative who may or may not want it.

I am similarly annoyed when clerks at stores ask me whether I would like to donate my change from a purchase to one cause or another. The answer is always “no.”

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com