Your Patience is Greatly Appreciated

By Sue Dyer

April brought us a little bit of everything, snow and unfortunately rain. The storm of April 15-16 did an exceptional amount of damage to our town roads. While it might not have been as horrific as the flood of ’55, some longtime residents said they had never seen so much water.

We had extreme washouts and road undermining, but our first concern was public safety and to get roads open again, some with only one lane. Since the cost of repairs will certainly be extraordinary, we are carefully keeping track of all our expenses in the event that we become eligible for federal assistance. Officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency visited the town on April 23 to determine the extent of the damage and to calculate eligibility. As of this writing we are still waiting for FEMA’s report.

I applaud members of our Pubic Works Department who worked tirelessly to make sure all the roads that were seriously affected were open to traffic by Friday. Meanwhile, we are still out making repairs and discovering more damage as the water recedes and evaporates. Your patience during this effort is greatly appreciated.

The collection of electronics is set for Saturday, June 2 at the Torrington Water Pollution Control Plant on Bogue Road. So this is the time to rid yourself of your computers, stereos, cell phone, VCR’s and monitors. The only thing you need to qualify is proof of residency.

Finally, don’t forget to attend the annual town meeting on Monday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hall of Flags at Botelle.