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Power Update:
As of today at 8 a.m., 3 percent of Waterford was without power, or 312 Waterford users. That is down from 77 percent of the town out right after the storm.
Important Announcements
- A Halloween “make-up” event has been scheduled for Monday night at the Cohanzie Fire House. It will be a trunk-or-treat event from 6 to 8 p.m., click here for more information. We really hope to see you all there, spread the word. The town asked people not to trick-or-treat on Halloween night because so many people were out of power and wires were down, so this will be a chance for Waterford to celebrate the holiday. Also, Patch will be collecting non-perishable food items for the event to donate to the Waterford food locker.
- All weekend Recreation and Parks programs and activities at any Waterford public school have been cancelled. That includes everything from swim lessons to people who booked a spot at a school. Pre-teen basketball try-outs have been cancelled as well, click here for more information on rescheduling.
- If you have power lines down on your home, call (800) 286-200 or report it at cl-p.com/StormCenter. Do so as soon as possible.
- The Community Center will be open from 8 a.m. to noon today. There are showers, computers and power outlets there for people to use.
- Normal trash collection will resume on Monday, November 5th, and there will be two consecutive weeks of recycling to get back to the normal schedule. The transfer station will be open today between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. although only for brush. It will be open every day next week.
- People can throw away rotted food at dumpsters at town buildings, First Selectman Dan Steward said. There are dumpsters at all five schools, the five fire stations and town hall, and people can use those dumpsters if they have food that is rotted because there is no power, he said.
- The Town of Waterford is asking residents to place all storm-related debris at the curbside of their homes, according to the Town of Waterford Department of Emergency Management Facebook page. The town will do a one-time free pick-up of all the debris starting November 13th and going for the rest of the month, according to the Facebook page. The town will do the pick-up street-by-street, although they have not announced the schedule yet.
- School was cancelled all week because of the storm. However, power has been restored to all the schools, and school should be back on Monday, Steward said.
- The CIAC has pushed back high school sport athletic tournaments. The delay depends on the sport, for more information, click here.
- A message from the Waterford Police Department: "Tree and power crews are still rotating through the Waterford Speedbowl, some coming in for dinner and to be bussed to hotels, others heading out for overnight assignments. Please allow plenty of space for crews working on the roadways. WPD Officers are posted at the Speedbowl for assistance, and with power crews throughout town. While at the Spredbowl, we are being told of numerous power crews being sworn at, threatened and generally being treated badly. While we understand the frustration, the crews are doing their best, please allow them to do their work as efficiently as possible."
- FEMA Individual Assistance is now available for damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. To apply, call 800-621-3362 or call all TTY 800-462-7585 if you have speech or hearing disabilities. Also, you can apply online here.
- Steward said despite the storm, elections will go on as usual Tuesday. It is now too late to register to vote, with the only exception people who moved to Waterford in the past 30 days, who have until Monday. However, we have found out you do not need to be registered to vote in the presidential election, you can show up Election Day and get a presidential ballot.
- Malloy said that homeowner insurance companies cannot charge the higher insurance deductible to customers (which is higher), but instead they must charge the standard deductible to customers. “The state moved very swiftly to alert the industry that this storm – although devastating to so many – did not meet the criteria for a hurricane deductible under state law. Homeowners will not have to pay high-cost hurricane deductibles for damage resulting from this storm,” Malloy said. “Based on the lessons learned from Tropical Storm Irene, we have built stronger consumer protections into our insurance laws. The Insurance Department will be working with the industry to monitor these claims.”
- Fire Director Bruce Miller is asking people to keep their generators outside, away from anything that can burn.
Miller said several residents have their generators in their garage, and it is filling their homes with carbon monoxide. Also, one person Monday night had their generator outside too close to the house. The generator caught the house on fire, so Miller stressed having the generators outside and away from anything that can burn.
- If you are concerned about structual damage to your home, please call the the Waterford Building Department at (860) 444-5813.
- The Waterford Utility Commission said people with grinder pumps should know if they are maintained by the town or if they are their responsibility. Either way, it is important to use the sewers as little as possible if you are without power. Click here for more information. If you need to contact the Utility Commission, please call (860) 444-5813.
- If anybody would like to volunteer for the town’s storm response, e-mail Wem@waterfordct.org.
Forecast
- Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 51. Northwest wind 9 to 13 mph.
- Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 31. North wind around 8 mph.
- Monday: Sunny, with a high near 49. North wind 8 to 11 mph.
- Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 27. North wind around 9 mph.
- Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 48.
- Tuesday Night: A chance of rain and snow after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Wednesday: Rain and snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 49. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
- Wednesday Night: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a low around 39. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
