Page 4 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • November 21, 2012 Franklin Lakes Mayor praises borough for storm response by Frank J. McMahon Franklin Lakes Mayor Frank Bivona heaped praise on the borough’s police, fire, ambulance corps, department of public works, emergency services, and Community Emergency Response Team members for their work during Hurricane Sandy, which hit on Oct. 29 and left the borough without electricity. “Now that the lights are back on and the homes are starting to warm up,” Bivona said, “I can say how proud I am to be part of a community who pulled together as one during this crisis. Our office of emergency management did an extraordinary job coordinating our resources, and our police, fire, and ambulance crews were great as usual, braving the storms, keeping people safe, and providing emergency services. “Our DPW workers also worked through the two storms, clearing roads, clearing people trapped in homes, and making sure our roads were safe for travel. Our Community Emergency Response Team, yet another volunteer group, manned our comfort stations and aided in the recovery process, and our borough employees carried on with normal duties while assisting wherever possible, including the important task of taking residents’ calls for information and assistance and getting the word out to them through the borough’s “e-blast” e-mail notification system, Facebook, and the borough’s website, and even placing hard copy notices at key locations throughout the borough.” Bivona noted that the borough’s schools and library missed some time, but rallied after getting power, helping families to get back to a more normal routine. “Just as important, we had neighbors helping neighbors where so many residents with power reached out to neighbors without power and provided a place to shower, sleep, or just get a hot meal. “One of our religious institutions which had power even held dinners for those in need, our firemen assisted neighbors with rescue workers and a borough rescue boat, and our ambulance corps organized a delivery of muchneeded goods to those in need. “We were uncomfortable, inconvenienced, and very frustrated, but many had it much worse as a result of this storm and are still trying to recover. Some have lost their homes and belongings and I, for one, count my blessings and have gained a greater appreciation for the things we take for granted each day.” He thanked everyone for being “remarkably patient” during the recovery period and for the community effort that he said, “makes Franklin Lakes a special place to live.” On Oct. 31, the Orange & Rockland Electric Company reported that 98 percent of the borough’s residents remained without power as trees, branches, utility poles, and power lines were down in many areas of town. The utility also experienced extensive damage to its power grid. By 3 p.m. on Nov. 1, O&R reported that power had been restored to over 500 homes, and 85 percent of the borough residents were still without power. O&R, the county, and the borough’s department of public works had been working in town all that day opening up county and borough roads, and clearing trees that had fallen into power lines, all the work that was necessary before power restoration crews could begin to work. The tree cutting and clearing operation continued, but on Nov. 3 there were still nine roadways blocked by trees with power lines. About 32 percent of the borough’s residences had their power restored. Bivona reported on Nov. 4 that, based on his conversation with senior O&R officials that morning, they estimated it would take about four days to repair problems at the borough’s major substation and that they the vast majority of residents would have power by Nov. 8. Halloween Trick or Treating, which had been rescheduled from Oct. 31 to Nov. 5, was canceled. As an alternative, the borough, in conjunction with the K-8 schools and the Franklin Lakes Public Library, invited everyone to a Trunk or Treating event that was held Nov. 5 in the parking lot on DeKorte Drive across from borough hall and the public library. By Nov. 5, O&R was able to restore power to approximately another 1,000 homes. Power was restored at High Mountain Road School and Woodside Avenue School late that day, and the Franklin Lakes Board of Education announced that all four K-8 schools would be open on Nov. 6. On Nov. 7, power had been restored to a large section of town. The nor’easter that was due to hit the area that day left a few inches of snow, but did not result in any major problems. Georgia Power sent a small army of crews to the (continued on page 6)