RESILIENT CLASS CELEBRATED
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Thursday, August 13, 2020
Town to conduct street-by-street storm cleanup President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration for Connecticut that will allow the state to request federal aid for damage caused by Tropical Storm Isaias, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Friday, Aug. 7.
The Berlin High School Class of 2020 held a socially-distanced commencement ceremony Friday night, Aug. 7 on the campus of BHS. Above: Valedictorian Audrey Feldman, who has left for college at Notre Dame, addressed the graduates via video. Right: Following the ceremony, fireworks lit up the sky, celebrating a class whose senior year was anything but normal. See more Class of 2020 photos and a list of graduates inside. Photos by Lee Roski
The Tuesday, Aug. 4 storm cut power to more than 700,000 homes and businesses in Connecticut, killed two people and seriously injured five others. Scores of trees and utility wires were knocked down.
the clock to restore power back to its customers.” Last week, Lamont asked the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to look into Eversource and United Illuminating’s preparations for the storm, calling their power restoration efforts “wholly inadequate.”
Mayor Mark Boughton of Danbury joined state and federal officials in expressing frustration that the utilities didn’t appear to be prepared for the A post on Berlin’s munici- storms, despite having pal website states, “Tropi- nine years to upgrade their cal Storm Isaias that swept systems and response through Connecticut on plans following two storms Tuesday evening uprooted in 2011 that both knocked trees and brought down out power to 800,000 cuspower lines in Berlin. Ap- tomers. proximately one half of the Eversource said it spent residents were without power as of Tuesday night $300 million, as part of an (Aug. 4) and that number agreement with the state was down to less than 1% after those past storms, to strengthen its electricity as of Tuesday morning system to help avoid ex(Aug. 11). Eversource in tended storm-related outpartnership with the ages. Under the plan, the Town’s Public Works Department is working round
See Storm, A18 R232002
Volume 22, Number 24