No serious problems reported
as blizzard clobbers Monmouth
Peace and quiet settled over Manalapan as snow began to fall throughout the area on Sunday afternoon. According to Manalapan Police Capt. Stuart Brown, the next two days were quiet as the snow fell, and fell, and fell.
When it was all over Monday evening, almost 24 inches of snow covered western Monmouth County.
Road crews were busy clearing Manalapan’s primary and secondary roads as soon as the snow started to fall, and tertiary roads received a hefty helping of snowplows as early as 3 a.m. Monday.
According to the road department, approximately 50 township and privately contracted plows were out fighting the blizzard’s snow drifts. Some drifts were measured at heights of 6 feet.
"I’m proud of the job the road department has done," said Mayor Drew Shapiro. "Anyone traveling Tuesday morning, I’m sure, has noticed how easy it was to get around town despite this record snowfall."
It was much the same in Marlboro, where Lt. Eric Landau reported no major incidents as the cleanup proceeded to clear the streets of tons of snow.
For the most part, residents stayed off the streets and there were no reports of any major accidents, according to Landau. He said the state of emergency declared by the governor served to make people aware that the best thing they could do was stay home.
Landau reported that one resident ran out of home heating oil and was told by the company that delivery would take several days. Hearing that, he said, police secured heating oil and delivered it to the resident.
In another instance the owner of a trailer with natural gas heating reported a problem with a clogged gas line. The police department notified the Office of Emergency Management, which took care of the problem, Landau said.
An overturned vehicle was one consequence of the snow-covered roads in Freehold Township.
According to Freehold Township Police Lt. Robert Brightman, a 2000 four-door Pontiac Grand Prix operated by Jamie Couto, 22, of Jackson was overturned near the Jackson border on Jackson Mills Road at 8:25 a.m. Tuesday.
Brightman reported that there were no injuries to either Couto or her 2-year-old daughter, who was securely restrained in a child safety seat.
According to the officer, the young mother refused medical attention for herself and her child. Both were transported home by township police officers.
Brightman also reported that there were "stuck" vehicles on township roads but that no injuries were reported. He added that township police assisted in numerous emergency transports to CentraState Med-ical Center for patients needing dialysis. Police officers also assisted in the transportation of doctors, nurses and other essential medical personnel to the hospital.
The lieutenant also commended the work of the township road department employees, stating that they did "an outstanding job maintaining township roads" during the blizzard.
Freehold Borough Police Lt. Phil Ecks said Tuesday that there were no snow related or emergency incidents to report in the borough. As the county seat continued to dig out from under the blizzard, Mon-mouth County offices remained closed on Tuesday.
Englishtown Police Chief John Niziolek said there were no accidents or injuries reported as a result of the storm. Police did transport one person to an assisted-living facility in the borough.
"We came out lucky," the chief said.
News Transcript staff writers Dave Benjamin, Clare Marie Celano and Jeanette M. Eng contributed to this story.