Vernon Went With The Flow — With Plows — During Monday Storm Response

VERNON, CT — At the height of Monday's storm response, as debris began quickly building around many catch basins in Vernon, something had to be done to get them clear.

The answer was ... snowplows.

"This was a big storm. It was a big, big deal," Vernon Town Administrator and Emergency Management Director Michael Purcaro said. "We knew it was coming and it was every bit as predicted, but can we remember a rain and wind storm like this. It wasn't a hurricane or tropical storm. It was a rain and wind storm that caused this many problems."

Purcaro said one key was to keep up with flooding threats that had reached their peak mid-Monday morning. It the catch basins would't work, then more water would bypass the storm water drainage system and head to the already-overworked streams, thus flooding yards and streets, he said.

"The plows made sense," Purcaro said. "It was the quickest way to stay ahead of the water."

Some of the local know-it-alls had a field day on social media, pointing out that the Vernon Department of Public Works was "plowing the rain" or "practicing."

One town official said those insults were countered with results.

Purcaro backed that official up.

"We weren't practicing and we kept the catch basins open," he said. "It's another example of Vernon's innovation."

Education officials, who had lost a school dat last month because of a special election, managed to keep the middle school and all five elementary schools open after a two-hour delay. Rockville High School had to close Monday because of a power outage.

Purcaro and Vernon police chief John Kelley visited open schools Monday to educate the children on "storm perseverance" and "just hang out."

As of Tuesday morning, about 40 homes were still without power in Vernon. The outages were scattered all over town, Purcaro said.

"We're working with Eversource to get accurate estimated restoration times," Purcaro said.