Preparations Help Town Weather Irene's Wrath

Hurricane Irene may have lacked some of her promised punch, but to those Holliston residents who spent good portions of Sunday without electricity or suffered damage as a result of falling trees, her impact was real and significant.

It could have been worse.

Steps taken by town officials prior to the storm’s arrival helped
minimize the damage and aggravation.  “The town was prepared for the storm and handled it quite well,” said Selectman Kevin Conley.   

His thoughts were echoed by Highway Department Superintendent Tommy Smith. "We got all the guys in," Smith said mid-afternoon. "We divided the town into four sections and have a crew in each section.  All the roads are passable as we speak.  Once the roads are cleared we will concentrate on cleaning culverts before starting the chipping.  We have had a lot of trees down.”

Fire Chief Michael Cassidy had Ladder 1 and Engines 1 and 3 investigating multiple reports of downed trees and wires.  He reported that “Holliston’s public safety personnel--fire, police and auxiliary police--have done an exemplary job of investigating reports of hazards and prioritizing requests for response from the Highway Department and NStar Electric, both of whom were extremely responsive.”

Late afternoon rides through town found many on emerald paths of debris and destruction.  Casey’s and Bertucci’s were reportedly filled with patrons, who chose a warm meal preferable to anything available in their dark homes.