The following is a press release from the East Haven Mayor's Office.
After a lengthy meeting this morning with the Town’s Emergency Management Director along with the leaders of Police, Fire and Public Services, Mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr. has announced that the Town will offer snowbound residents the service of picking up their medical prescriptions in certain critical situations.
This morning, Maturo reached out to McDermott Auto Group, which has now generously donated the use of a very large truck that will enable the Town to offer this delivery service and respond to medical emergencies in areas that have yet to be cleared of the record breaking snow.
Maturo explained, “Any resident who is snowbound and is in dire need of their medication should contact 9-1-1 for this service. The Town will pick up the prescription at the pharmacy and deliver it to the resident’s door.”
Maturo continued, “I cannot thank Dave McDermott and McDermott Auto enough for their assistance during this emergency. They have been and continue to be a tremendous community participant for our Town.”
Following the meeting, the Mayor took the opportunity to assure citizens that the Public Services Department, which has been at work 24/7 since Friday morning, is continuing to work to open up Town roads and is making progress with this very difficult challenge.
Maturo continued, “I am certainly sensitive that our citizens are anxiously awaiting the cleanup of their streets. However the effort required to dig out is enormous, as this was the largest amount of snow to have fallen during a 24 hour period in East Haven’s history.”
Maturo explained, “The department is well aware of the secondary streets that have not yet been cleared. The Town now has 7 outside contractors that are assisting with the cleanup and we are asking residents to refrain from calling Public Services, Fire or Police to report snowplowing issues. However, residents should call 9-1-1 if there is a true emergency. “
Additionally, the Mayor has received word that there will be NO trash or recycling pick-up on Monday and that Trash Master (the town contractor) will be reassessing the situation again on Monday for the balance of the week.
Maturo explained, “After a conference call this morning with the Governor and other town leaders, it is clear that all municipalities are having problems getting their secondary roads opened. To assist with that effort, I urge you to stay off all roads, including those that are plowed, since many are clear for only one lane. Many vehicles that are trying to travel our streets have gotten stuck and this is making the clean-up effort twice as hard and will only further delay the process.”
Throughout the blizzard, the Mayor has monitored the situation with his department heads, and has used the Reverse 911 system several times to keep residents updated. He urged that for general updates, residents should continue to monitor the Town’s website (townofeasthavenct.org), Twitter, FaceBook or the New Haven Register and East Haven Patch on the internet.
The Mayor concluded by reminding residents that East Haven received close to 3 feet of snow from this blizzard during a 24 hour period.
He explained, “This snowfall was truly historic in both its size and ferocity and as such I ask all residents to remain patient while we work our way through this monumental clean-up. I cannot urge them enough to remain home unless absolutely necessary.”
