Wethersfield
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INSIDE:
Towanda Foundation honored for fight against breast cancer, Page 3
Impact of superstorm Sandy varied greatly throughout state, Page 2 Lodge at Cold Spring welcomes congressional candidates, Page 9
Friday, November 2, 2012
Surviving the storm Officials say lessons from 2011 storms helped town cope with Sandy By ERICA SCHMITT STAFF WRITER
Practice makes perfect, they say. Or at least practice produces a better outcome the next time. This rings true when it comes to storm preparedness, as Wethersfield looks a lot better today than it did a week after the infamous October storm inflicted its wrath on the town around this time last year. This is in part because Sandy didn’t bring Central Connecticut Volume 53, No. 39
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the precipitation Alfred did, but also because people weren’t taken by surprise this time. “The town has had its emergency plan together longer than last year,” explained Town Manager Jeff Bridges, adding, “What we did over the last year is look at lessons we learned, both the things that worked well which we enhanced, and the things we could improve on, which we did.” Officials made sure to keep residents informed well in advance of the storm. They also staffed the emergency operations center and the Pitkin Center shelter well beforehand and readied them with supplies. “Each storm provides you new insight; every one is a learning experience,” Bridges continued. See PREPAREDNESS, Page 5
CRWC staff
Leigh Standish, one of a dozen boaters who took to Wethersfield Cove recently to learn more about the Metropolitan District Commission’s Clean Water Project, which aims to keep the waters of the Cove and other regional water sources, clean.
Kayaking for a clean Cove Boat ride thought the Cove promotes Clean Water Project, highlights dangers of pollution
By ERICA SCHMITT STAFF WRITER
What’s scarier than raw sewage? This is the question Angela Mrozinski, outreach and events director with the Connecticut River Watershed Council asked of about a dozen people who paddled through the Wethersfield Cove recently dressed in their Halloween best. In their canoes, kayaks, even a paddle boat, the group had the chance to learn more about the
Metropolitan District Commission’s Clean Water Project, which will continue if voters in eight towns (including Wethersfield) agree to fund the $800,000,000 in bonds, grants and loans on their Nov. 6 election ballots. The group took to the water last Saturday morning and paddled into Folly Brook off of the Cove, which has at least eight outfalls that discharge raw sewage in the water when it rains — as it did two
See BOAT RIDE, Page 4