Community Corner

"Proceeding at Full Speed"

About 3,500 remained without power Tuesday as town continues cleanup effort from Sunday's storm.

Two days after Hurricane Irene hit Connecticut, the town's clean-up effort is "proceeding at full speed," town officials say, though thousands remain without power Tuesday.

As of 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, 3,521 residences were still without power, down from a high of 11,878 Sunday. Town crews are working around the clock assisting United Illuminating by cleaning up the many trees that fell on power lines, Mayor Scott Jackson said, "breaking only to sleep.

“Public Works Director Craig Cesare has reassigned his entire department to tree clean-up in an effort to aid United Illuminating in restoring power," Jackson said. "As soon as we get word from UI that they have deadened downed lines, our tree crews can come right behind them to clear the blockages and allow UI to turn the power back on.”

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On Wednesday, UI should be able to give residents an idea how much longer it will take to restore power, Chief Administrative Officer Curt Leng said.

Also on Wednesday, Supt. of Schools Fran Rabinowitz said she will decide whether schools will open for the new year on Thursday. Even if all the buildings have power, there's still the question of whether the roads are cleared enough for school buses to pass, and if not, opening day may be delayed.

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"We are on for opening right now, but we are carefully monitoring the condition of the roads," she said Tuesday. "We’ll make a decision tomorrow afternoon."

 UI has brought in crews from several states to assist in the restoration, Jackson said, and Hamden Public Works can't touch trees entangled in power lines until UI is available to respond to problem.

Meanwhile, those without power are welcome to shower at the Hamden-North Haven YMCA on Sherman Avenue, which is providing free access to the public daily from 6 to 9 p.m. Residents are requested to bring their own towels.

Public Works also is gearing up for next week's brush and limb pickup that begins Tuesday, Jackson said.

 “Our first priority is to get power restored to all homes and clear all streets, then aggressively focus on cleaning up the storm damage”, he said.

PIckups will take place throughout next week, but residents are asked to have the brush out by Tuesday to assure the debris is out in time.

"Normally the town only takes small amounts of brush during leaf season, but due to the extraordinary weather event, the town is taking the extra steps to assist," Leng said.

Tree limbs and brush should be out to the curb by Tuesday in neat piles he said, "as there will be only one opportunity to get this added service."

"The town is in the business of helping people, and this is a way Hamden can help our homeowners with the results of this challenging weather," Jackson said.

Compared to other communities, Hamden fared relatively well, in large part because of the preparation.

“The greatest factor in Hamden's quick recovery was the preparedness of Hamden residents who cleaned up potential hazards, prepared themselves and stayed safe as the storm approached," Jackson said. "Their common sense allowed us to focus on clean-up efforts." 

For more information about the brush pickup, contact Julie Smith, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, at 203-287-7103.


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