Town Hall Closed Wednesday as Portsmouth Begins Digging Out

Town Hall will be closed Wednesday and a Town Council meeting about a proposed pay-as-you-throw program will be held at a later date thanks to the wallop Portsmouth received in the form of snow and wind since Monday.

The major winter storm brought nearly 20 inches of snow to town and with wind still blowing around drifts during the day on Tuesday, local officials have opted to cancel school and town functions Wednesday.

Plow crews and town workers have been working around the clock to keep roads as clear as possible during the storm, which brought blizzard conditions and heavy wind during most of the day Tuesday.

The Fire Department reported that most residents have heeded warnings to stay home and off the roads, making for a relatively quite night overnight into Tuesday.

As of Tuesday morning, the department had responded to three medical calls, helped an elderly woman without heat and rushed to the scene of a report of a house fire on Green Street in Island Park.

That fire turned out to be a group of people celebrating the storm with a camp fire with some alcoholic beverages.

Portsmouth police issued a citation.

Monday night’s Town Council meeting that was cancelled has been rescheduled to Thursday night at 7 p.m.

The School Committee planned for Tuesday night will be held Jan. 29 at Portsmouth High School.

For a complete list of closings and cancellations, go HERE.

Photo: Common Fence Point earlier on Tuesday. Photo by Linda Pierce via Portsmouth Patch on Facebook.