Community Corner

After the Storm: Cleaning Up From Irene

Now that the storm is over, the process of cleaning begins.

One of the things that Kathy Jacoby, chief of the Jefferson Township Rescue Squad, likes best about volunteering in the township is “the way everyone in this town works together to keep its residents safe.” According to both Jacoby and township mayor Russell Felter, never was that shown more than during the perils of Hurricane Irene. Even the mayor himself helped out, breaking out his own chain saw to help cut apart a tree that had fallen across Berkshire Valley Road.

“At least I still have all 10 fingers left,” Felter said with a laugh.

“Everyone, from the police to the rescue squads to the fire departments, the OEM and the DPW, all were tremendous,” Felter said. “Everyone worked together and got done what needed to be done.”

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All the groups Felter mentioned had a meeting on Saturday afternoon prior to the start of the storm, and worked out every last detail.

“We did everything we could to make sure that all our people were safe and all the people in the town were safe,” Felter said.

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Jacoby said that the Jefferson Rescue Squad made the decision to have volunteers sleep at the squad building on Rt. 15 on Saturday night, as did the fire department.

“We thought it would be good to have people right at the building, to minimize traffic on the road if there was an accident,” she said.

“Then, it was so quiet on Saturday night, I remember thinking that maybe we’d made all those preparations for nothing. But the Sunday came, and I realized we couldn’t ever bee too prepared.”

Both Jacoby and Felter mentioned the evacuations of lakefront property owners in Lake Shawnee as one of the more important events of the day.

“That was definitely the height of the craziness of the day,” Jacoby said.

Felter said what struck him the most was the strength of the water surging through Lake Shawnee.

“I was at Saffin Dam when it went, and the sound of the water was just amazing to me,” he said.

He also talked about when he realized exactly what the town was dealing with in terms of Irene. It was Saffin Pond dam’s breaking that caused a surge into Lake Shawnee, forcing the evacuation of lakefront property owners.

“I was standing on Brady Bridge at about 6:15 on Sunday morning, and the rain was pelting and the wind was howling. It was then that I realized exactly what we were up against.”

However, Felter said the craziest thing he did during the day on Sunday was drive the wrong way on Route 15.

“I was looking at the flooding down by Cedar Terrace, and since they had parts of 15 closed off, I had to drive north on the southbound side,” he said. “That’s something I’ll definitely never do again.”


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