By John Tredrea, Special Writer
Hopewell Valley, like many other communities in New Jersey, experienced a hopefully once-in-a-lifetime storm that began Oct. 29.
When terrible “Sandy left, many other problems began.
Pennington
About 25 Pennington Borough homes were still without electric power Tuesday morning, borough Police Director Bill Meytrott said.
At that point, “some people on Baldwin Street, Welling Avenue and Sked Street still had no power, due to problems from fallen trees,” he said. He added that an estimate on when power might be restored to those homes was still unavailable.
Director Meytrott said a large tree that had blocked Sked Street since “Sandy” passed through has been cleared away by the borough Public Works department.
”Public Works could not remove a tree blocking Baldwin Street, because there were too many wires tangled up in it,” he said. Removal of that tree will have to wait until PSE&G comes to the site and makes it safe for work on tree to proceed.
Borough officials said residents could expect sporadic power outages during the next few weeks, as PSE&G temporarily shuts off power while working on circuits.
Anyone whose power is out more than 24 hours should call PSE&G at 1-800-436-PSEG. Additional power outages might be caused, local officials said, by another storm that began before press time Wednesday.
During times of power outage, the Pennington Firehouse on Broemel Place is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Residents can get warm, recharge batteries and get water. Showers are not available. An ice trailer, where residents can fill coolers, is at the Hopewell Township Public Works building on Washington Crossing Road, west of Scotch Road.
Residents needing assistance can call the borough’s director of emergency management, Mark Reading, at 613-0338.
Borough officials recommended that residents consider signing up for NIXLE, a communication system towns around the state have begun to use. The system allows government agencies to send public safety notices via text messages and email.
To sign up, go to www.NIXLE.com. The sign-up is free. Those who sign up must select the agencies from which they want to receive messages. Borough officials recommend that residents sign up to accept messages from Hopewell Township, which surrounds the borough.
Hopewell Township
PSE&G crews remain very active in Hopewell Township with hopes of having power restored to all of their customers by Nov. 10, according to township police.
Many Valley PSE&G customers had their power restored as of Nov. 5, the police added.
JCP&L, which also serves parts of the township, has restored power to the New Road area. “They expect many customers will be back on line by Wednesday (Nov. 7), said Lt. Lance Maloney of the township police. “Their estimate for full restoration remains Nov. 10. However they expect to bring sections of the township online each day. “
The lieutenant added that “individual service problems, such as when the service has been torn from the house, need to be addressed by homeowners with an electrician. Utility companies are only responsible to get their cable to the home.”
The Union (Titusville), Pennington and Hopewell firehouses have been serving as reception centers for people between the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. so people can warm up, wash up and charge cell phones, laptops, etc.
The Hopewell Borough reception center has moved from the Hopewell Firehouse to the Calvary Baptist Church, 3 E. Broad St., which will be open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. The health department planned to open a warming shelter for people needing a warm place to rest/sleep at the Union firehouse. It will be open 24 hours.
The Hopewell Township Public Works facility and the Hopewell, Pennington, and Union firehouses are being utilized as water distribution sites for residents. Residents should bring their own containers.
Also, bags of ice and a limited supply of bottled water are available to JCP&L customers without power at the township Public Works facility (203 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road). The ice and water will be available between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.
This is the most current list for services that are available:
Water distribution sites: Hopewell Township Public Works facility Union, Pennington and Hopewell firehouses.
Ice distribution center for JCP&L customers: Hopewell Township Public Works facility between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.
Reception centers: Pennington Firehouse between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Calvary Baptist Church between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Warming Shelter: Union Firehouse open 24 hours. This site is open 24 hours a day, with cots available for people who need a warm place to sleep.
During the storm, 83 homes were damaged by falling trees, but all remained habitable, Lt. Maloney said.
One storm-related injury was reported in the township, the lieutenant said. On Nov. 1 at approximately 3:19 p.m., a 31-year old Trenton man, Carlos Aguilar, suffered a head injury when he fell from a ladder while attempting to clear debris from a roof located on Continental Lane. Mr. Aguilar was transported to a local hospital by the Hopewell Valley Emergency Services Unit. He was still hospitalized Monday.
Sections of many roads were closed during the storm (and for days following the storm) — including Route 31 and Route 29 due to downed utility poles, wires and trees. Most roads have been reopened with the exception of sections of the following roads: Federal City Road near Rosedale Park; Woosamonsa Road west of a bridge that is under construction; Province Line Road north of Route 518; Harbourton-Woodsville Road east of Route 579; and Elm Ridge Park .
Hopewell Borough
Hopewell Borough still had approximately 50 homes without power Monday afternoon, borough Mayor Paul Anzano said. “PSE&G is aware and working on them,” the mayor said. “They told us they expect to have every one powered by Friday. We shall see.”
The mayor added: “There were no storm-related injuries that I am aware of in the borough. There was some property damage, primarily due to trees hitting houses. Overall, the damage was not extensive. I do recognize, however, that if it is your home or business, the damage is very significant.”
He also said: “I’m proud of how the police, department of public works and the residents have responded. Everyone has been helpful, sharing information, helping others to stay powered and cleaned up.
”I spoke at four of our five churches requesting individuals with generators who were not using them to loan them to others still without power. There has been a very good response. Councilman Sean Jackson is making the ‘loan’ arrangements. Sean spoke at the other church.
”Water and sewer are fine,” the mayor noted.
”I feel the borough was well prepared for Sandy. We took the threat seriously. In the end, we were very fortunate. One thing I can say with certainty — parents across the Valley are overjoyed the schools are open. “
