The Berlin
Cit itiz ize en
Volume 15, Number 8
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
Thursday, Februar y 24, 2011
Winter 2011
The wrath and the aftermath By Olivia L. Lawrence The Berlin Citizen Winter unleashed its fury again and again this year. Here’s an overview of what the town faced over the past couple of months and how officials dealt with the situation. 80 inches of grief “This bordered on a natu- Simonian ral disaster,” said Arthur Simonian, who as public works director, was at the center of the storm. As calls from residents started streaming in, and it became clear this would be an extraordinary year, Simonian came to
work early on storm days in order to go out into the neighborhoods and talk to people about how they were coping. “I wanted to show there is compassion from the town side. So I went out in the storm to talk to people about their streets…I wanted them to know we’re all in this together,” he said. While town ordinances call for residents to remove snow from sidewalks, many found this task overwhelming and many called in to say they weren’t able to do it. “It was very icy and heavy,” Simonian said. Other troubles included where to put the snow as driveways shrunk, snow banks
Photo by Lee Roski
Fire and ice, as depicted by this photo at Kensington See Winter, page 7 Fire Rescue, gives an ironic twist to the elements.
Lots of good stuff at Ocean State Job Lot By Olivia L. Lawrence The Berlin Citizen The local Ocean State Job Lot is part of a chain of 100 discount stores — and yet the Berlin location is unique in many ways. Shoppers may be surprised to learn the strategies the store uses to keep stocking dirt-cheap items — and that Ocean State runs one of the largest charitable food drives in the region. “We’re continuing to expand into Connecticut and all stores, including Berlin, are doing well,” said David Sarlitto, head of marketing. While many stores are a destination, some “have their own base of shoppers and Berlin is one of them.” The Berlin store, 133 Webster Square Rd., opened in 2001, and has five year lease opSee Lots, page 5 The Ocean State Job Lot on Webster Square Rd.
State of the Town: Berlin hangs in there By Olivia L. Lawrence The Berlin Citizen At the Berlin Chamber of Commerce “State of the Town” luncheon Feb. 15, town leaders talked about the difficult winter and the ramifications for budgets, schools and the overall functioning of the town. “We’re still here,” said Mayor Adam Salina, addressing an audience of local business people at the Community Center event. He noted a recent storm-related issue — a leak in the town manager’s office, as one small example of the widespread, ongoing concerns the town faced this winter. But with town crews working overtime, “We’ve been able to stay ahead of it,” the mayor said, talking about clearing school roofs and other snow problems. Fire Marshal Steve Waznia said his office received “millions of calls” — not much of
Citizen photo by Olivia L. Lawrence
Mayor Adam Salina at the State of the Town luncheon.
an exaggeration — in regards to roof situations. “The fire department does not shovel roofs,” he said. However, they may be able to provide assis-
See State, page 4