Showers Available at Tyrrell

The Town has opened Tyrrell School to be used by residents for showering and charging cell phones, computers and other electronic gadgets essential for communication. Residents may use the facility between 7 am and 10 pm. Officials anticipate keeping the school open until power is restored. As of Monday evening, 53% of town is still in the dark.

This facility is in addition to the storm shelter at the Senior Center which is open 24 hours a day. Food is available there during the day. A limited number of cots are also available on site and there are quiet rooms for watching TV or reading in.

Power outages are predominantly in the Woodtick and south areas of town, with other outages in the extreme north end. Residents scattered across town also have more isolated outages.

School Closed, Halloween on Hold

The power’s out. Power lines are down, and its just plain dangerous. Until otherwise noted, assume school is closed.

UPDATED: Mayor Dunn has postponed Halloween activities to November 5th.

Governor Malloy is leaving decisions on Halloween in the hands of local mayors. On Sunday evening, Mayor Dunn said a decision would be made today, yet “as a parent I would be especailly careful. There’s wires down that are still capable of electricuting someone. We don’t want that to happen.”

Here’s the recomendation:

Whisper’s Coverage and Contacts

Thanks for checking in.

The Whsper is committed to giving you important coverage on the storm’s impact in Wolcott. Because of some cell phone problems and the loss of a computer charger, updates will be intermittent, but we will continue to try to update the site at least once daily. Our goal will be an update in the mid-morning and again in the late evening.

Because of the widespread impact of the storm, we can use your help. Below every article is a “Leave a Reply” feature which you may use to communicate with your fellow residents. We encourage this to be used liberally. Tell us about your storm experience, give us additional info about street problems, or offer a suggestion to improve town response or how we can use this space more effectively.

Beginning today, we are offering an “Open Forum” space at the top of the newblog. If you have a need- such as an elderly person needing shovelling, or perhaps can offer your service, post it there.

Apart from the storm, there is other news we want to report, especially about the upcoming elections. We hoped to have candidate profiles posted already but have been delayed due to the storm and other factors. Hopefully those will be up by Thursday. If you are a candidate, please contact us ASAP to be included if you have not done so already.

Thankyou and please continue your support and give us your input. We can be reached by e-mail at WolcottWhisper@gmail.com or 203-558-5817. Please leave your name and number if you reach the voicemail.

Thank you.
Chris O’Brien

October Winter Storm Offers Irene Repeat for Cellular Carriers

By Lon Seidman

courtesy, CTNewsJunkie

A rare October snow storm knocked out power to more than half the state Sunday, repeating a nightmare scenario that the state’s two largest cellular phone carriers had to deal with when Tropical Storm Irene passed through the region in August.

Continue Reading at CTTechJunkie…

Assessments Still Ongoing, Hundreds of Thousands Still In The Dark

UPDATE: As of Monday Evening, 53% of Wolcott residents are without power. Hundreds of state roads are still closed, 200 cellphone towers are damaged, and a handful of state office buildings remain closed as the state deals with the a “historic” power outage which left more than 800,000 customers in the dark.

Connecticut Light & Power President and CEO Jeff Butler said Monday that there are still 18 transmission lines without power, but by the end of the day he expects to have 575 line and tree crews working to assess and repair the damage caused by the October snowstorm.

Continue Reading at CtNewsJunkie…

Town Opens Warming Center

The Senior Center on Nichols Rd. is open for any resident seeking relief from the cold. Hot meals are being served throughout the day, and residents can warm up while they wait for electricity to be restored.

If you need a ride to the shelter, please contact the police department at 879-1414. The town bus or other means will come pick you up.

Weather and Road Closures

Good Morning.

At 9:00 am Monday morning, we have compiled a weather report:

Monday – Black ice until about 11 am. Heavy fog in some patches this morning due to temperature changes between lakes and the air. Sunny with a high aronud 45 degrees. Temperatures tonight will be above freezing, but cold.

Tuesday – Cloudy with a scattered shower as a front passes to our south. Heavy rain will stay near Long Island, but Wolcott should be ok. Temperatures just below 50 degrees.

Wednesday – Thursday – Temperatures reaching around 60, sunny. Overnight temps in the mid 40s.

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As of Monday morning, the following key roads are still closed:

Meriden Rd. / Rt. 322 – –

Snowstorm Open Forum

Here you go!

This is your space. Feel fere to post a comment about storm damage in your neighborhood. Do you have a particular need for yourself or a neighbor? Or is there a resource or service you wish to offer (including tree cutting, contract work, etc. Yep. Free advertising)? Perhaps just an inspirational thought or complaint?

How do you get started? Click on “Leave a Comment” below!

Commentary: Should School Officials Use Ruse for Drug Search?

Just one week after Superintendant Macary’s contract was truncated and replaced by a new 3 year contract, the Waterbury Republican- American reported that a drug search took place at Wolcott High School. Students informed their parents that they were told that intruders were in the schools and they were locked in their classrooms until an announcement was made that it was only a drill. According to the Republican – American article, only Superintendant Macary and the High School principal knew about the drill beforehand. The article also says that Macary did not know about the ruse mentioned below.

By Rick Green
Hartford Courant – 10/22/11

At Wolcott High School one morning this week, an urgent announcement crackled over the intercom: a threatening intruder was in the building and students were told to immediately take refuge in classrooms.

Storm Notes

Below are some suggestions for handling food, power and driving problems in a winter storm.

School, Halloween Events Cancelled

Trick or Trunk and DARE events are cancalled today due to the storm and extensive power outages and blocked roads.

Any further word about Halloween tomorrow night will be made later today. As of 2 pm, no decision on school tomorrow has been made.

Storm Leaves Tangled Mess; Residents Urged to Stay Home

Lou DeLage stepped outside to survey the damage to his home this morning to find a twisted mailbox and three thirty feet long limbs with the diameter of a leg across his yard. He began taking pictures when large balls of snow and ice rained down from trees above him. “That was caused by the plow first,” he says, pointing to the mailbox. “Then the branches came down.” He didn’t hear them, but his daughter did around 10 pm last night as a historic storm dumped 15 to 20 inches of wet heavy snow across Wolcott in an unusually early nor’easter. “But hey – I still have power, water, and no damage to my home. I’m lucky,” he said.

Not so lucky are residents of the Woodtick section of Wolcott,

Governor: Expect to Be Without Power

Governor Malloy addressed the state at 6:30 tonight giving cautions reminescent of Hurricane Irene as over 300,000 residents are already without power. “We are experiencing outages beyond what we experienced during Hurricane Gloria,” he told reporters.

As of the news conference, one person has died on Rt. 85 in Colchester and a State Trooper was injured in an accident. His injuries are not life threatening.

The starkest news