The Week in Review

Hurricane Irene Blows Through Chatham

Think you missed anything in the Chathams this week?

Hurricane Irene caused a significant amount of damage to the Chathams last weekend. Chatham Patch updated you throughout the day Sunday, beginning around midnight all the way through 10:40 p.m. We continued our local Chatham coverage and regional coverage all week long, including: After the hurricane, school district offices opened up again Tuesday and athletic teams resumed practice. Amid fears that Colony Pool would not be ready to open for the weekend, township officials arranged for members to attend the Chatham Borough Municipal Pool. However, on Friday officials announced Colony Pool would open on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Chatham Patch started our Back to School coverage this week, with a look inside what’s new at Chatham High …

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Chathams Open Municipal Mulch Areas

The borough scheduled a bulk pick-up for trash after Hurricane Irene.

Chatham Borough scheduled a curbside brush pick-up for branches and other yard debris left behind by Hurricane Irene to begin Sept. 6. A release dated Tuesday said, "with the anticipation of a heavy volume of brush the [Department of] Public Works plans this collection between 6 and 10 working days." Residents should cut any large limbs to under 4 feet in diameter and leave the limbs on the curb without wrapping them in plastic. The borough also authorized its mulch site on Duchamp Place to remain open this week and next week from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Chatham Township Mayor Nicole Hagner said the township will not hold a curbside mulch pickup, but the town's Tanglewood Lane mulch facility will be open all week from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for …

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Irene: Residents May Go 3-5 Days Without Power

Priority for power restoration given to shore communities.

Chatham Borough Mayor Nelson Vaughan said Monday afternoon residents without power may not see their electricity restored for three to five more days, with full restoration occurring near the end of this week. "They're [JCP&L] working on restoring power to the shore first," Vaughan said. "They lost their power before us, and they had it much worse." According to JCP&L, 3,599 Chatham residents are still without power as of 11:23 a.m. Monday. Vaughan said Gov. Chris Christie told all municipalities to contact their respective county to report any outages, and the county is responsibe for alerting the state. He said because power outages from Hurricane Irene are a state-wide issue, he is not permitted to contact JCP&L directly. "It's pretty …

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Irene: School, Sports Events Postponed Indefinitely

The district announced offices will be closed on Monday due to damage from Irene.

The School District of the Chathams said they will be closed Monday due to the damage caused by Hurricane Irene, and all athletic and extracurricular activities are postponed until further notice. District offices are located in Chatham Township, which still has numerous roads closed due to trees and live wires down in the roads. Township Mayor Nicole Hagner and Borough Mayor Nelson Vaughan say they expect all services such as garbage pick-up will be operating as usual on Monday. "I think that if they can [do the garbage pick-up], they will," Hagner said. Vaughan said, "I haven't heard anything to the contrary." Though some surrounding communities were asked to boil their water, Hagner and Vaughan said water in the Chathams is safe for …

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Hurricane Irene: Power Outages Reported at Jersey Shore

Shore communities feel the wrath of Irene.

The Jersey Shore started to feel the heavy impact of Hurricane Irene Saturday night as strong wind gusts and driving rains became more frequent, causing slick roads, poor visibility, and plenty of reasons to find shelter. By 10:30 p.m., power outages were being reported up and down the coast. According to Jersey Central Power & Light, major outages were reported in Neptune, Howell and Manahawkin and Toms River. Ron Morano, a spokesman for JCP&L, said 13,000 customers in in central New Jersey were without power. About 6,000 of those customers were in Ocean County. What began as on-and-off rain showers during the day Saturday turned more wicked by sunset. The wind howled on the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk, downing palm trees placed on …

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Hurricane Irene: Township Prepares 'Storm Action Plan'

Best thing residents can do is stay inside, according to the Department of Public Works head.

With Hurricane Irene presumably on its way this weekend,Chatham Township officials prepared a safety briefing in preparation, according to Chatham Township Police Lieutenant Steven Hennelly. Hennelly explained via email that representatives from Green Village and the Chatham Township Fire Departments, as well as the Chatham Emergency Squad and Department of Public Works, met with members of the Police Department, Office of Emergency Management and Mayor Nicole Hagner to coordinate a storm action plan for all of the agencies. According to the action plan, the public is requested to only dial 9-1-1 in true cases of emergency. Once the storm begins, police, fire and EMS will prioritize calls, and only respond to those of emergency nature that…

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