Update: Town Readies for Irene (with Video)

Emergency service personnel, company representatives and school and department heads met at Montville Town Hall this morning to discuss preparations for Hurricane Irene.

Superintendent Pamela Aubin announced that schools will not open as scheduled on Monday. Montville Public Schools are now scheduled to open on Tuesday.

St. Bernard School is "monitoring the storm." Should the need arise to cancel school, an official said, the school will notify faculty, parents and staff. An earlier version of this story had incorrect information.

Fire Marshal Ray Occhialini said that Montville High School will be the town's shelter. The opening time has not yet been decided, he said, but he wants the shelter to be open before the storm hits.

For information on what to bring to the shelter, click .

The fire chiefs from all four stations attended the meeting and said they were set.

Personnel from the Department of Public Works will be stationed at the fire houses with plow trucks so that tree limbs and other debris can be cleared readily, said DPW Director Don Bourdeau.

Bourdeau also said that the DPW has 500 sandback in stock on pallets, and will put Dunn's Tree Service on standby.

He said he would contact the power company to put out an alert about Kitemaug Road and the detour. If trees come down on wires, it will be vital to get the power shut off in that area so that the trees can be removed to make way for emergency vehicles.

Jim Wood of Rand-Whitney said the company is working to decide whether to close during the storm.

Water will be available at Tyl Middle School and Charles E. Murphy and Oakdale elementary schools, if residents are in need after the storm.

The main thing to remember, said Mayor Joe Jaskiewicz and Sgt. Michael Collins, is that people should stay home.

"Emergency Management will be tied up," Collins said. "We won't have time to help disabled motorists."

"Please," said Jaskiewicz, "please stay home."