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Branford Copes In The Dark

by Diana Stricker | Aug 31, 2011 3:16 pm

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Posted to: Housing

Sam Stricker On Day Three after the hurricane, Branford residents who regained power were jubilant, and those still in the dark were coping in old-fashioned ways.

“Praise the Good Lord,” said Dena Jara as she regained electricity to re-open Shoreline Café on Main Street. Dena and husband Wilson Jara were serving coffee and hot meals Tuesday in their café after power was restored to a small portion of town late Monday.

Since the vast majority of Branford was still without power, from Short Beach at one end to Stony Creek at the other, town officials and police, and even the Boy Scouts, were going door-to-door to keep people up-to-date since the internet and most phones were out of commission. Many residents were starved for information. 

Police Capt. Geoffrey Morgan said power was being restored along the Route 1 corridor, and then crews would begin working on other roads. “The grid is coming back up,” he said. “We’re still waiting for more CL&P crews.” They are arriving daily in Branford from far away states and Canada, he said. CL&P has told town officials that it might take at least a week to restore power in some areas that were hit hard.

Many stop lights in town were dark.  State law requires every motorist to stop at every intersection with a disabled overhead signal. Stop signs had been placed at key intersections. 

By day’s end power had been restored to parts of Short Beach Road, including the Branford Hospice. Hospice was high on the town’s list. As the day wore on its generator died.  Faced with evacuating patients or firing up the grid to hospice, the grid was finally fired up, a town official said. That act restored power to hundreds of homes along the way, including the Turtle Bay condos.
At Town Hall, Second Selectman Fran Walsh and Democratic second selectman candidate Andy Campbell were preparing to deliver informational letters to all 30 members of the Representative Town Meeting, who in turn would deliver verbal messages to residents in their districts. The letters, from first selectman Anthony “Unk” DaRos, gave an update on the town’s status and recovery efforts.

“I’m hand-delivering these. We need to keep people informed,” Walsh said. “Our major problem is getting power. It’s a slow process.”

Police Chief Kevin Halloran, whose swearing-in Thursday as the town’s new police chief has been postponed, likened the situation to the 1985 Hurricane known as Gloria. Back in those days there were no cell phones for everyday use or advanced technology.

Now we are in 2011, he said, and “we still needed to find a way to communicate.”

So the police were dispatching an army of volunteers, including Boy Scouts and many others, to deliver brochures to neighborhoods that were hard-hit by the storms.  The brochures from the police department included information about power restoration, debris disposal and health and safety issues.

“We trying to make a personal connection with the community,” Halloran added. 

Superintendent of the Branford School District Hamlet Hernandez was notifying parents that school would be postponed until after Labor Day. In a letter posted on the district’s Web site, Hernandez told parents that a decision would be made later about the exact starting date.

Throughout the town, there were examples of people helping each other.

Volunteers at the Community Dining Room (CDR) have been cooking by generator power since Sunday evening. The CDR typically serves meals to those having financial woes, but they opened their doors to include a group of people at the shelters, and dozens of weary first responders who have been working long hours since the storms pummeled the shoreline.

On Tuesday, the CDR volunteers were preparing shrimp and other tasty fare, thanks to local restaurant owners who donated fresh food before they closed their doors. “We got some wonderful donations,” said Pat Kral, CDR executive director.  She had high praise for the volunteer staff led by Frank Toro who have cooked hundreds of meals in the past few days. 

“This is a beautiful expression of people coming together to help each other,” Kral said. “It takes my breath away. I’m amazed at the generosity.”

Meanwhile, in the Town Center, some stores without electric were open. The Towne Pharmacy was using a generator to power one computer to fill prescriptions. Manager Wendy Streeto said they were quite busy since opening Tuesday morning, but would have to close before sunset since the generator couldn’t also power the lights. “Thank goodness for all the windows we have,” Streeto said.

While some stores were still boarded up, the Sound Runner at 1088 Main St. had enough light to open for business, thanks to the strength of the sun pouring through the skylights. Manager Melanie Borsari said about six customers came in to buy flashlights and paid the old-fashioned way with cash.

Sam Stricker The clippers were clipping at Branford Top Notch Haircutters after their power was restored. John Barbaro, (pictured) a barber for nearly 50 years, said Irene was the worst storm he’s seen. He said that after Hurricane Gloria, the barber shop was able to open the next day.

Also on Main Street was Lori Romich of the East Shore Health District, who was checking on restaurants to see if they were in compliance before opening. She said health district personnel were checking freezers and coolers to make sure they were cold enough to store food. They were also checking to make sure thawed foods were discarded.

Back at the Shoreline Café, the Jara’s had already received the go-ahead before they re-opened. “We lost everything,” Dena said in regard to foodstuffs. “We had to start over as if we were opening on the first day.”

Mary Johnson Capt. Morgan said the town’s shelter, which was positioned at the Mary T. Murphy elementary school, was being closed and a “limited shelter” was opened at the Community House at 46 Church St., so that people could take showers.

DaRos said there was a major road upheaval on Linden Avenue, and that a temporary lane was cut across lawns to allow access for residents. 

Mary Johnson Other roads that sustained major are Beckett Avenue in Short Beach, Limewood Avenue in Indian Neck, Seaview Avenue in Hotchkiss Grove and Island View Avenue in Pine Orchard.

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