The first major snowstorm of the new year dumped nine inches on Lawrence Township on Tuesday, causing the cancellation of evening meetings and the early closings of businesses and schools around the township.
By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The first major snowstorm of the new year dumped nine inches on Lawrence Township on Tuesday, causing the cancellation of evening meetings and the early closings of businesses and schools around the township.
The snow was followed on Wednesday by cold temperatures, which are forecast into next week. Wednesday’s high was around 15 degrees.
The snow began falling around the morning rush hour and continued throughout the day and into the evening. The last snowflake fell around midnight, leaving several inches of pristine and fluffy snow on the ground.
One of the first casualties was municipal trash collection, for both Tuesday and Wednesday pickup. Township officials asked residents whose trash would have been collected on those days to wait until today, Thursday, to place the blue buckets on the curb for collection.
Township Council canceled its Tuesday night meeting, and rescheduled it for Thursday at 7 p.m.
Lawrence Township Municipal Court’s Tuesday afternoon session was canceled, as well as the Wednesday morning court session set for Wednesday.
Municipal offices closed at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, and did not re-open until 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. The normal municipal office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Across town, the Lawrence Township public school district dismissed students early Tuesday and used the third of three regularly scheduled snow days for Wednesday. After-school activities were cancelled both days.
Students at Lawrence Middle School and Lawrence High School were dismissed at 12:15 p.m. The Eldridge Park and Slackwood elementary schools were closed at 1 p.m. The Ben Franklin and Lawrenceville elementary schools, plus the Lawrence Intermediate School, dismissed students at 1:40 p.m.
The Mercer County Technical School’s open house and information session, scheduled for Jan. 26, was postponed until Feb. 20 because of the hazardous weather.
But it wasn’t only the schools and the municipal government that closed early.
Two of the township’s largest employers — the Educational Testing Service and the Bristol Myers-Squibb Co. — sent their employees home early Tuesday.
The Educational Testing Service closed at 1 p.m. Tuesday and remained closed Wednesday because of the weather. Bristol Myers-Squibb Co. closed at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, although employees were allowed to leave as early as noon. It re-opened Wednesday at 10 a.m.
And the Quaker Bridge Mall decided to end the shopping day early, at 4 p.m. Tuesday. The mall re-opened Wednesday at its normal opening time of 10 a.m.