"This was such a sudden thing'

Larry Torno, on the job during spring floods in West Lebanon a couple of years ago. (Lebanon Voice file photo)

LEBANON - Lebanon Road Commissioner Larry Torno, a lifelong resident of Lebanon, is fighting an untreatable form of cancer.

But that's not all he's fighting.

Recently, according to a close friend and relative, Torno, 62, was told by town selectmen he was no longer eligible to receive the town's contributory portion of his health insurance premium.

In a recent letter, longtime close friend Jim Durgin said Torno was told since he is an elected employee, he is no longer able to receive the 70 percent town subsidy other full-time town employees receive, and that his first monthly premium of $1,800 is due Feb. 15.

Since he is an elected town official who can no longer perform his duties, Torno, currently halfway through his second three-year term as road commissioner, no longer receives his monthly salary, either.

Torno has already spent two weeks at Maine Medical Center in Portland as well as shorter stints in other area hospitals, and the bills are beginning to pile up.

"They're getting bills that insurance won't pay," said Christine Torno, a sister-in-law.

Durgin and Christine Torno are certain that stress over the upcoming insurance payment put Larry Torno back in the hospital last week.

"Two days ago he was home and he was stressed out over insurance," Durgin said on Sunday. "Up until he found this out, he was doing pretty good for a while."

"This insurance stuff did not help him out physically," Christine Torno said on Sunday.

Christine Torno said the family might be able pay one insurance premium this week, but after that, it's uncertain.

For Larry Torno's wife, Pam, their four grown children and several grandchildren, this has been a terrible turn of events," Christine Torno said.

"This was such a sudden thing, it's hard for the family to grasp and he does so much for the family, in so many different ways," she said. "To think they have to come up with an insurance payment on top of this, I think it's crazy."

Durgin, who has been close friends with Larry Torno for some 20 years, has started a Gofundme page for relatives, friends and townspeople to help support the family expenses during this time, including the monthly insurance premium.

To visit the page and make a contribution, click here.