Daily Archives: October 31, 2011

Judith “Judy” Buttaro of Derry

October 31, 2011

Judith “Judy” Buttaro, 52, of Derry, NH died Friday October 28, 2011 at the Parkland Medical Center, in Derry. Judy was born in Hartford, CT on May 25, 1959, the daughter of Donald and Beatrice (Bolles) Heywood. She was a resident of Derry, where she taught as a substitute teacher for eleven years. Her family described Judy as, “always the Teacher”; whether through her volunteer work raising puppies for Guiding Eyes for the Blind, her 10 years working with The Boys Scouts of Troop 402, the West Running Brook School marching band, gardening, or her help with the Londonderry United Methodist Church Sunday School. She had a passion for inspiring success in others and took special pride in watching her three sons grow and become independent.

Including her parents, she is survived by her Husband Mark and their three sons, David of Greenville, NC, Peter and Matthew, both of Derry.

There are no calling hours. Following cremation, a memorial service will be held on Saturday November 5th, 2011 at 11:00am in the Londonderry United Methodist Church, Mammoth Road, Londonderry. Memorial donations may be made to the Guiding Eyes for the Blind Foundation, 611 Granite Springs Road, Yorktown, NY 10958 or to Troop 402, c/o St Thomas Aquinas Church, Crystal Ave, Derry, NH 03038.

Visit the Peabody Funeral Homes website to leave a condolence note or view others.

Share
By admin | Posted in Obituaries | Tagged | Comments (0)

‘Snowtober’ Restoration Efforts Continue

October 31, 2011

179,000 customers without power, down from peak of 237,000

Londonderry has 8,254 without power Monday Night or 79.37% in the dark.

October 31, 2011 4:00 p.m.Update from PSNH

Manchester, NH October 31, 2011 – Restoration efforts continued on Monday, in the wake of an early season snowstorm that knocked out power to more than a quarter of a million New Hampshire homes and businesses and to more than 3 million across the northeast.

Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) reported that it has restored power to more than 55,000 customers. The number of PSNH customers without power as of 4:00 p.m. on Monday was about 179,000 down from a peak of 237,000 on Sunday afternoon. PSNH is reminding all customers who are without power, but have not yet reported their outage, do so by calling 1-800-662-7764 or through psnh.com. Customers need only report an outage once.

“We continue to make steady progress, but frankly we have a long way to go,” noted David Bickford, PSNH Director – Customer Operations. “While we expect to be cleaned up in the Lakes Region and the Monadnock Region today, we still expect total restoration to require up to one week for some customers, although we are working hard to improve upon that.”

PSNH is advising all customers currently without power in the area south of Route 4 from Concord to the Seacoast and along the southern tier from Temple eastward to assume that power may not be restored for several days and to plan accordingly. “We will provide more specific restoration estimates as soon as we can,” said Bickford.

In addition to 84 PSNH line crews, more than 50 outside crews, including 25 from Hydro-Québec, are also in the field today working to restore power. Dozens more are enroute from Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, Maine, and other areas. With most trees still holding their foliage, the one to two feet of wet, heavy snow brought limbs and branches down onto wires and equipment in some cases taking those wires to the ground and occasionally breaking utility poles in the process. A complement of 130 tree crews are on the system, removing the numerous limbs and branches in support of the line crews efforts.

A Historic Storm

This “Snowtober” storm rates as PSNH’s third largest outage in history, following the December 2008 Ice Storm and February 2010 Wind Storm. Snowfall from the storm is the most recorded in New Hampshire during October in 140 years. “Like Hurricane Irene, this weather event has not only impacted New Hampshire, but the entire northeast,” noted Bickford.

Important Safety Reminders

  • Customers are urged to stay clear of fallen or sagging power lines and to treat all lines as if they are ‘live.’ They should also stay away from downed trees or poles, and report this situation immediately to PSNH at 1-800-662-7764.
  • In addition, PSNH reminds customers that it is critical for their safety and the safety of line workers who will repair the electrical system that portable generators be installed correctly. To protect line workers, a generator should only be attached to the house wiring and completely isolated from the utility supply. Without proper isolation, power that is being generated through the home could also feed into the PSNH electrical system, causing an unsafe situation for both line workers and neighbors. Please take care when installing a portable generator. For more generator safety tips, visit psnh.com.

“Snowtober” is a hashtag used early in the storm on twitter #snowtober that stuck as a storm name.

Share
By admin | Posted in Around Town | Tagged , , | Comment (1)

Day by Day, Up to a Week for Power Restoration

October 31, 2011

State Senator Sharon Carson

Senator Carson completed a meeting in the last hour with PSNH and other Senators from around the state of New Hampshire.  The efforts to come look good but the outcome may not be what people are looking for.

According to the Senator, “Right now they are working on 90 backbone circuits, when those are complete they will start on the laterals. They have 20 of these main backbone circuits left that are not repaired as of 4pm this afternoon.”

Sharon continued with more details, “They do expect to be done with those backbone circuits on Wednesday when more crews arrive from other locations not affected by the storm.  Some as far away as Ohio and Canada. They told all of us you may not see people in the morning working but they will be arriving.”

They also told the group of Senators some very upset as there were tense moments Sunday in places like Nashua that did have gas, rough estimates on restoration. According to what they were told PSNH is “estimating up to a week, taking everything day by day.”

When we asked if it was a week from the start of the incident or a week she indicated they only said “estimating a week.” They are setting up a mobile command center in the parking lot at the Wallmart in Hudson, ETR’s may be available in the next few days.

At just after 5pm on Day 2 PSNH reports 179,799 without power for them in New Hampshire. Londonderry is at 8,255 or 79.3% that’s no change today, Hudson 9,820 at 92% and Auburn 2,209 with 100% in the dark tonight.

 

Share
By admin | Posted in Alert, Around Town | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

NO SCHOOL IN LONDONDERRY ON TUESDAY

October 31, 2011

The Londonderry schools will be closed on Tuesday. The decision to remain closed was made because of the slow pace of power restoration through the town. Parts of Londonderry are facing several more days without power, and issues linger in some of the school facilities as well. We’re hoping to open schools on Wednesday. A decision about that will be made on Tuesday.

Share
By John Robinson | Posted in Around Town | Comment (1)

So Where’s Watty?

October 31, 2011

Update at 3:00 pm.  Email from Senator Carson from PSNH

Good afternoon to all:

We are thrilled to announce that in addition to our own PSNH crews, we have/will have an additional 53 today and an additional 150 tomorrow from Tennessee, Illinois, Colorado, Quebec, Ohio, Maine and Missouri.   The weather has been on our side and we expect warmer weather over the next few days which is conducive to these workers having the best opportunity to work quickly.  At this time, we have 180,651 customers without power which means we restored roughly 8,000 customers between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. today.  We hope to maintain or beat this rate for the remainder of the day given the good weather and additional manpower.

As the work continues, the most significant work is in a smaller geographic area.  Southern NH is hardest hit and of the 180,651 total PSNH customers without power, 154,385 are in the Manchester/Hooksett/Bedford/Nashua/Derry/Londonderry/Merrimack area.  It has been more than 140 years since we have seen a Nor’Easter in New England and the greater region in October, so it is very difficult for these customers to understand why there is so much damage at this time of year.  Our Customer Experience Department reported that we are handling roughly 3,000 calls an hour which is a great indicator of how difficult this has been on the state.

With so many customers still without power, it may be difficult to get an estimate of restoration for some specific towns or addresses.  However, we are heartened to have the additional crews today and I hope an update late this afternoon will provide some uplifting news.  As always, please go to http://www.psnh.com/outage/outagemap.aspx for the online outage map.  We will begin to populate that website with estimates for restoration as soon as we have confidence that we can meet those estimates.

I will continue to provide any new information as it is received.

Update at 2:30pm Monday

Just announced on school Tuesday November 1st. The school year goes to Monday June 18th… so far.

By popular demand we have been asked to put up Where’s Watty sighting and will continue to get you the latest town information as we receive.  Please let us know if you have power.  We will try to keep a running tally who is getting power.  It looks like the North End of town is getting power back slowly.

Senator Carson has a conference call with PSNH at 4:00 pm today.  As soon as she ends the call, she will call us.  We will update all of you with this information.  Carson just received the following information from a Until spokesperson through email.  “Unitil has set an ETR, or Estimated Time of Restoration of Tomorrow, Tuesday Evening.  As with all major events, there may be pockets and individual outages that remain until Wednesday.  I will send along an updated Outage Information Chart with listings by town soon.”  This according to Peter Wells.

We would also like you to feel free to submit a guess as to when power is restored to the entire community.  The news room is on the Adams Road circuit, like many of you in our town.  The trees are still hanging on the wires, and the road is still closed from Deer Crossing to Cross.  On a return trip from the PSNH offices in Manchester we did see tree crews on High Range Road. They were north of Shasta, limbs were still on wires north and south of that location.  Our personal  estimate is going to be another 5 days to restore power, but that is an opinion not news.

Adams Road is closed between Deer Crossing and Cross Road. The town information is incorrect on it being open.

The Londonderry Fire Department called to ask us to make sure that everyone understand that the Londonderry Shelter is a regional shelter accepting anyone.  Pets however, are not welcome.  The shelter does not have the facilities to handle pets at this time.

The school district is speaking with both state and local officials and will be making a decision later today on school for Tuesday.

Updates as they happen here on Londonderry Hometown Online News.  Breaking news updates available here on the website and at www.Twitter.com/LondonderryNH

Share
By Kathy Wagner | Posted in Around Town | Comments (32)

The PSNH Man No More

October 31, 2011

Once upon a Halloween so dreary while I pondered cold and weary over great piles of  clothes left dirty on the floor

While I nodded nearly napping wanting just some water to take a crapping, suddenly there came a tapping as if someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door

Tis another visitor I muttered tapping at my chamber door

Only this and nothing more

Ah yes I do now remember it was in bleak snow-tember and each dying ember reminded me I must chop wood some more

Earilly I wished for tomorrow that soon the PSNH man would follow from my bleak memory of power, power that came no more

Just some power and no more

Presently my heart beat stronger wishing that no longer

“Sir or madam”, said I.  “Truly I implore you

But the fact is I was napping as so gently you came a tapping, tapping at my chamber door.”  That I’m sure I heard you, wider I opened the door

Darkness there and nothing more

Deep into the darkness peering long there I stood dreaming, dreaming thoughts that no mortal dare dream before.  Was this the PSNH man come a tapping at my chamber door

Only him and nothing more

Open now I flung the door but all there is just darkness and no more

To the neighbors I peer to the left and then to the rear

But just all be darkness there darkness there and nothing more

Anger now begin me yearning, yearning for the light above my chamber door.

Where is this man that so demeaning keeps tapping, tapping and repeating

Teasing, teasing all that implore

Tis power we want and nothing more

Curse you man who will not stop tapping.  Why do you continue to be harassing, harassing me at my chamber door

Back into the darkened chamber with all my soul within me burning, surely said I there is something, something at my chamber door

But look again and nothing, nothing at my chamber door

Quothe the frigid nevermore

Then again the tapping, tapping then banging at my chamber door

What is this mystery that I must now go and explore

The darkness in my heart now so strongly beating could my eyes be deceiving, deceiving me into what I wanted to be seeing, seeing at my chamber door

“You cruel man”, I began now screaming out my chamber door

“HEY, it is not the power man your seeing, seeing out your chamber door

But us kids a trick-or-treating, treating at your chamber door.

All we want is candy sir, candy sir and nothing more.”

 

Share
By Jim Loiselle | Posted in Around Town | Comment (1)